Intro:
Arts and handicrafts have been very developed in Bangladesh since time immemorial. In the villages of this country, women are very skilled in different types of quilts and handicrafts. In the midst of household chores, they constantly create many beautiful, ever-new aesthetic hands and various objects made in the cottage industry. The most interesting of these is the variety of handicrafts made with needles. Kantha (Quilt), Nakshi (Designed) kantha (quilt) and hand fan are among them. They also make a variety of everyday furniture items. They make hats or knitted shirts for children while sitting at home with needle & thread. Even though this number has come down a lot now, I have seen a lot from my mother and sisters in my childhood doing many such Nakshi kanthas and working in different fields of handicrafts. I used to see my father weaving fishing nets very easily with needle & thread. In just a week's time, a whole fishing net was knitted. I grew up watching all these aesthetic needlework and crafts. So even though it is old, these needleworks at home still remain as a place of beauty. Today I want to share such a hand fan work here.
Background of Hand Fan:
It has not been long since electricity has touched the remote rural areas of Bangladesh. So, in rural areas there was a lot of use and circulation of hand fan on hot days or in summer. So, the women of the village used to design many beautiful flowers, diapers and diamonds in the hand fans. The design imprinted not only on the kantha(quilt) but also on the hand fan. Since hand fans were a constant companion on hot days, everyone enjoyed a kind of joy in the aesthetics of hand fans. And there was a competition among everyone as to who could make the most beautiful designs. When someone came to visit the house, he would feel delighted if he/she was allowed to wind with this beautiful hand fan or let him blow. And this is why the use of hand fans is so prevalent and I could see the beautiful competition of design among the adults in my childhood.
I was surprised:
When I came to study Textile Engineering, I found that diamond and diaper designs in my course which can be easily embroidered on cloth through weaving. These structures and designs have to be designed according to some rules and regulations. But all of a sudden, when I saw this diamond design on the hand fan at home, I was really amazed at how beautifully these designs have been weaved in the hand fan without any formal education. So here are some of my engineering designs and hand fan designs together (in picture below). I have to put the formula but no formula of design by my elder sister at home. Yet how beautiful and captivating and perfect!
These hand fans made by my elder sister are quite old. At least ten to fifteen years old. But even today there is a touch of aesthetics and beauty in it. The yarn was not broken, nor was the handle of the fan broken, nor was the cloth torn.
Image: My Sister (Nazmin Alam, in right) who is behind this creation with me
The process of making a fan:
I know the process of making a fan. I will briefly describe the process. The first thing to do is to take the cloth in a frame and gently weave the designs in it with needle and thread. At first the fabric is not round, it is square or rectangular. Later, when the needle & thread work is finished i.e. design is done, it is inserted into a round frame made of bamboo. The frame is covered with a separate cloth and the designed cloth is attached to it. This work is also done with needle & thread so that it does not come off the frame. For this, you have to wrap it on a separate cloth. The next task is to install the hand fan with handle. This time the handle is firmly attached to the round frame with the help of needle & thread binding again. This creates a beautiful and aesthetic hand fan which gives a very nice air on a hot day. Increases beauty and adornment also.
Final Words:
Through this community, I am happy to express and publish this unique cottage industry or handicraft of rural Bengal (Bangladesh). Many thanks to everyone in this community. That’s it today.
Be creative and make some needle works.
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks to @crosheille for initiating such a good community
Who I am:
I am lecturer of Textile Engineering in Bangladesh. I love Textile and its related accessories. Being a lecturer on Fabric Manufacturing, I need to perform knitting and weaving activities regularly. I stay with needle and textile machineries. Recently I have found this amazing needle work community. Hopefully I shall share my needle works which I love to do to this community.
So, in this community I shall show one after one about my needle work. As a Textile Engineer, I need to knit several fabrics with knitting machine by the help of needle. Hopefully I shall show one after one of those knitting, crochet and weaving works from both manual and mechanical.
I want to express my ideas and learnings to this community so that anyone can be benefited from me. I blog in YouTube, DTube and Hive on Textile, Online Money making and Random topics. I love to capture Natural Photography. I am always a learner and wants to go to the moon with this platform.
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