Chikankari Sarees | Buy Authentic Lucknow Chikankari Sarees

Chikankari is Lucknow's whisper-fine hand embroidery — florals, vines and lattices worked thread by thread on airy cloth. Explore 35+ Chikankari sarees and blouses, from white-on-white classics to coloured-thread drapes on georgette and handloom-style weaves.

The Needlework of Nawabi Lucknow

Tradition places Chikankari in Mughal-era Lucknow, where Nawabi patronage grew the craft into a repertoire of more than thirty distinct stitches. The most telling is bakhiya, or shadow work: the artisan embroiders herringbone on the reverse of sheer fabric, so only a soft milky shadow with a crisp outline shows on the front. One saree may pass through several embroiderers' hands before washing and finishing.

What Chikankari Costs Here

Prices run from about ₹4,000 for woven Chikankari sarees to around ₹6,050 for embroidered Chikankari Patola handloom drapes, with woven Lucknowi pieces sitting in between. Prices shown are regular list prices — seasonal offers applied automatically at checkout often bring them lower.

Where to Wear Chikankari

Office and formal daywear

Tone-on-tone Chikankari reads polished without shouting — an off-white or pastel drape with fine threadwork is boardroom-appropriate elegance.

Daytime functions and festive lunches

Light fabrics and breathable embroidery keep you comfortable through long gatherings; coloured-thread pieces in blue, green and rose lift the classic look.

Evening cultural events

Georgette Chikankari with moti and cut-dana highlights catches lamplight beautifully — pair with pearls for the full Lucknowi mood.

How to Recognise Hand Chikankari

Turn the fabric over. Genuine hand embroidery shows knots, thread travel and slight irregularity between repeated motifs; shadow work reveals its full herringbone only on the reverse. Machine imitations look identical on both faces and perfectly uniform across the saree — precision that human hands never fake.

Chikankari Glossary

• Bakhiya — shadow work stitched on the reverse so a soft shadow shows through.
• Phanda — tiny millet-shaped knots that dot flower centres.
• Jaali — open lattice made by parting warp and weft with the needle, never cutting threads.
• Murri — rice-grain knot stitch, the classic filling for petals.
• Keel kangan — a paired motif: a nose-pin dot ringed by a bangle-like curve.

Care and styling: dry-clean or hand-wash cold without wringing the embroidery, dry flat in shade, and let silver or pearl jewellery finish the look.

Explore Related Collections

• Embroidery Sarees — all hand- and thread-worked styles.
• White Sarees — the classic canvas for white-on-white work.
• Cotton Sarees — breathable everyday drapes.
• Summer Sarees — light fabrics for warm days.
• Office Wear Sarees — understated workday elegance.

Every MySilkLove saree is quality-checked before dispatch and delivered across India, with blouse piece included where listed.