The short answer: Chikankari is a family of stitches, each with a different look and job. Taipchi (also spelt Tepchi) is the simple running stitch that outlines motifs. Bakhiya is shadow work, stitched from the back so the pattern shows through softly on the front. Phanda and Murri are tiny raised dots, Phanda like a millet grain and Murri like a rice grain. Jaali is open latticework made by drawing the fabric’s own threads apart and securing them, so the lace comes from the cloth rather than being sewn on top of it. Around those five sit the supporting stitches, Keel Kangan, Hool, Zanzeera, Rahet and Ghas Patti, which fill, outline and finish a design. Once you can tell these apart in a photo, the stitch names in a listing stop being jargon and become something you can check.
If you have read a kurti description that promises “Bakhiya, Phanda and Jaali work” and wondered whether that is a real specification or just impressive words, this guide is for you. It explains each stitch the way a buyer needs it: what it looks like, where it is used, and how to spot it in a product photo. The descriptions are general. For what is on any one garment, check that product’s own page.
The stitches at a glance
| Stitch | Also spelt | What it looks like | Main job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taipchi | Tepchi | Long, simple running stitch | Outlining motifs, filling large areas |
| Bakhiya | Bakhia | Soft shadow of the pattern on the front | Filling motifs with a subtle, flat finish |
| Phanda | — | Tiny round raised knots, like millet grains | Flower centres, vine filling |
| Murri | — | Tiny raised rice-grain shapes | Borders, geometric filling, texture |
| Jaali | Jali | Open net in the fabric itself | Airy panels, borders, yokes |
| Keel Kangan | — | Raised, nail-like ridge | Stems, borders, 3D accents |
| Hool | — | Small eyelet hole ringed with stitches | Flower hearts, delicate borders |
| Zanzeera | — | Very fine chain stitch | Final outlining of leaves and petals |
| Rahet | — | Solid stem line (double Bakhiya) | Outlines, stems |
| Ghas Patti | — | Long, smooth satin-like fill | Leaves and petals with a lustrous surface |
The tradition names more than thirty stitches in total. These ten are the ones a buyer actually meets in listings, and they are enough to read almost any product description.
Taipchi (Tepchi): the foundation stitch
Taipchi is the simplest Chikankari stitch and the one the others build on: a long running or darning stitch worked across the fabric, usually in parallel lines. It outlines motifs, fills large areas with an even texture, and holds a complex design together, keeping the more elaborate stitches around it in line.
What it looks like: neat rows of even stitches, like a dashed line made of thread. What it tells you: on its own, Taipchi is honest, everyday work, but it is not the most skilled stitch in the family. A piece described as Taipchi-only should not be priced like mixed-stitch work unless something else, such as fabric, density or finishing, justifies it. Do not dismiss it, though. Without Taipchi, the fancier stitches would have nothing to sit inside.
Bakhiya: shadow work
Bakhiya is the stitch most people picture when they think of classic Chikankari, and the hardest to describe without seeing it. It is worked from the reverse side of the fabric, in a herringbone-style double back stitch, so that on the front you see the pattern as a soft shadow rather than thread sitting on the surface. There are two forms, often called ulti (reverse) and sidhi (straight) Bakhiya.
What it looks like: a motif that seems to glow through the fabric, with a smooth front that feels comfortable against the skin. It shows best on light, semi-sheer fabrics such as muslin, cotton, georgette and chiffon, because the shadow needs light passing through the cloth. What it tells you: genuine shadow work is difficult to fake, because stitching from the front cannot reproduce the same back-to-front effect. If a listing claims Bakhiya, look for a close-up showing a soft, shadowed edge rather than a hard, raised outline, and a reverse-side photo, if one is offered, showing the denser stitching that creates the shadow.
Phanda: the millet-grain dot
Phanda is a tiny knotted stitch, similar in technique to a French knot: thread is wrapped around the needle and secured to form a small, round, raised dot. The classic description calls it millet-shaped. It fills flower centres, dots along vines, and builds a fine, grainy texture across a motif.
What it looks like: a field of tiny, even, raised dots, each about the size of a pinhead. What it tells you: Phanda lives or dies on consistency. Each dot is made individually, so uneven dots are visible at a glance in a close-up, while even dots in a dense field signal a practised hand. Phanda adds texture without weight, which is why it suits summer kurtis: the fabric stays soft even where the embroidery is dense.
Murri: the rice-grain dot
Murri is Phanda’s close cousin and the stitch most often confused with it. Murri stitches are also tiny and raised, but they are shaped like rice grains, slightly elongated rather than round, and they are typically used for geometric patterns, borders and textured filling. That difference matters: a listing that says Murri should show elongated grains, not round dots.
What it looks like: tiny raised rice grains, packed into lines, borders or motif fillings. What it tells you: Murri is among the more labour-intensive stitches, because each grain must sit at the same angle as its neighbours to read as a pattern rather than scatter. If a listing claims extensive Murri work at a very low price, look harder at the close-ups rather than assuming a bargain. If a listing uses Phanda and Murri interchangeably for the same round dots, the description was probably written from a keyword list rather than from the garment itself.
Jaali: lace made from the fabric itself
Jaali, also spelt Jali, is the stitch that surprises most first-time buyers, because it is not embroidery added to the fabric at all. Threads of the fabric itself are drawn apart, and the openings are secured with minute buttonhole stitches, forming an open net or lattice. The lace is therefore in the cloth, not on it.
What it looks like: a delicate openwork panel, almost like net, through which light passes. Held against the light, a Jaali panel reads as a regular lattice; machine-made jaali-look work usually reads as uniform cutwork or applied mesh. What it tells you: Jaali is widely described as the most technically demanding Chikankari stitch, and the most delicate in wear. A Jaali panel needs the gentlest care: no wringing, and no snagging on jewellery or rough surfaces. That delicacy is part of its value, not a defect, but it should change how you wear and wash the piece (see our wash-and-store guide).
The supporting stitches
A finished design rarely uses one stitch alone. Five stitches do the supporting work that makes a motif read as a complete design.
Keel Kangan is a raised, textured stitch shaped a little like a nail or spike, used to give stems and borders a three-dimensional edge and to make floral motifs stand out. In a photo it reads as a firm, raised ridge along a stem or border.
Hool is a fine, detached eyelet stitch: a tiny hole ringed with stitches, forming the heart of a flower or a delicate border detail. Look for it at flower centres and along fine borders.
Zanzeera is a very fine chain stitch, worked with a single thread, used as the final outline around a leaf or petal after the main outlines are done. It sharpens a motif: without it, a petal’s edge can look soft; with it, the shape reads cleanly from a distance.
Rahet is a stem stitch, rarely used in its simplest form. Its common form is as double Bakhiya, a solid line of back stitch on the right side of the fabric, used for outlines and stems.
Ghas Patti is a long, satin-like stitch used to fill leaf and petal shapes with a smooth, lustrous surface that catches the light. Where Taipchi fills with lines, Ghas Patti fills with a continuous sheen.
How stitches combine in a single garment
A typical kurti might outline its flowers in Taipchi, fill the petals in Bakhiya, dot the flower centres with Phanda, edge a border in Murri, and open a Jaali panel at the yoke, with Zanzeera sharpening the petal edges and Keel Kangan stiffening the stems. That combination is the point: each stitch does what the others cannot.
For a buyer, this has a practical consequence. A listing naming only one stitch for a richly worked garment is probably describing it loosely; a listing naming five stitches for a sparsely worked garment is probably overselling it. Count the stitch types you can actually see in the close-ups: shadow fill, dots, openwork, outlines. Then compare that count with the description’s claims.
How to spot each stitch in a product photo
Work through a listing’s close-ups in this order. You need no equipment, only zoom.
Outline first. Long, even running stitches around a motif are Taipchi. A fine chain outline is Zanzeera finishing the shape.
Filled areas. A soft shadow with no raised thread on the front is Bakhiya. A smooth, shiny fill inside a leaf or petal is Ghas Patti.
Dots. Round, millet-like dots are Phanda. Elongated, rice-like grains are Murri. If the listing says one and the photo shows the other, note the mismatch.
Openwork. A regular lattice formed from the fabric’s own threads, with light passing through, is Jaali. A uniform mesh or cut-out shape is something else.
Flower hearts and stems. A ringed eyelet is Hool; a raised ridge along a stem is Keel Kangan; a solid stem line is Rahet.
Reverse side, if shown. Bakhiya should show denser stitching on the back; Jaali should look as neat from the back as from the front, because the lattice is in the fabric itself.
If a listing offers no close-ups at all, that is information in itself: stitch claims that cannot be checked from the photos should be treated as unproven until the seller provides a close-up.
Care by stitch: what changes
Most Chikankari care advice is the same for every stitch: gentle wash, no wringing, dry in shade. Two stitches deserve extra attention. Jaali panels snag more easily than any other stitch, so keep them away from rough jewellery, bag straps and Velcro, and never pull a snagged thread. Phanda and Murri dots can flatten or loosen if a garment is scrubbed or machine-washed aggressively, so those areas should never be rubbed directly. Bakhiya is comparatively forgiving in the wash, because the stitching sits inside the fabric. The sheer fabrics it is usually worked on are not forgiving, though, so the garment’s fabric, not just its stitch, should set the wash routine.
Mistakes buyers make with stitch names
Treating every stitch name as a quality grade. No single stitch is the best. Beautifully worked Taipchi beats sloppy Murri every time. Judge the evenness and density of the work, not just the names in the description.
Assuming Phanda and Murri are interchangeable. They are not: round millet dots versus elongated rice grains. A listing that swaps them is a warning sign about how carefully the description was written.
Paying a Jaali price for a mesh look. True Jaali is openwork in the fabric’s own threads. Applied net, laser cutwork and machine mesh can look similar in a distant photo and are not the same thing. Zoom in before you pay for Jaali.
Expecting every stitch on every garment. A light everyday kurti may legitimately carry only Taipchi and Bakhiya. Demanding Jaali and Murri on every piece pushes sellers toward inventing stitch claims, which is exactly how buyers end up misled.
Judging from a single distant photo. Stitches are small. If you cannot see individual dots, grains or lattice openings in the photos provided, you cannot verify the stitch claims, whatever the description says. Ask for a close-up before ordering, not after delivery.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bakhiya work in Chikankari? Bakhiya, or shadow work, is stitched from the reverse side of the fabric so the pattern appears as a soft shadow on the front. It gives a smooth, flat finish and shows best on light, sheer fabrics such as muslin, cotton, georgette and chiffon.
What is the difference between Phanda and Murri? Both are tiny raised stitches, but Phanda dots are round, like millet grains, while Murri stitches are elongated, like rice grains. Phanda is typically used for flower centres and dotted filling; Murri for borders, geometric patterns and textured filling.
What is Jaali work in Chikankari? Jaali is open latticework made by drawing the fabric’s own threads apart and securing the openings with minute buttonhole stitches. The result is lace formed from the cloth itself, not mesh or cutwork applied on top of it.
Is Taipchi real Chikankari? Yes. Taipchi (Tepchi) is the foundation stitch of Chikankari, a long running stitch used to outline motifs and fill large areas. A piece that is only Taipchi is the simplest form of the craft, not a fake.
How many stitches are there in Chikankari? The tradition names more than thirty stitches in total. A buyer only needs the ten in this guide to read almost any listing: Taipchi, Bakhiya, Phanda, Murri, Jaali, Keel Kangan, Hool, Zanzeera, Rahet and Ghas Patti.
Which Chikankari stitch is the most delicate? Jaali, because its open lattice is part of the fabric itself and can snag or distort if handled roughly. Phanda and Murri dots are the next most vulnerable, because they sit raised above the fabric and can flatten or loosen with harsh washing.
Can I tell the stitches apart from online photos? Usually, yes — if the listing provides genuine close-ups. Use the six-step photo check above: outline, fill, dots, openwork, flower hearts and stems, and the reverse side where shown. If there are no close-ups, ask the seller for them before ordering.
The takeaway
You do not need to learn to embroider to shop Chikankari well. You need to recognise five main stitches: Taipchi’s running outline, Bakhiya’s shadow, Phanda’s round dots, Murri’s rice grains and Jaali’s open lattice, plus the five supporting stitches that finish a design. With those in mind, a product description becomes a checklist you can verify against its own photos, instead of a list of impressive words you have to take on trust.
If you are choosing a first piece, start with the Chikankari Kurti Buying Guide, which explains how fabric, fit and price interact with stitch choice. If you already own Chikankari, the wash-and-store guide covers how each of these stitches should be cared for. And if you want to check whether a piece is hand work at all, the hand-vs-machine guide‘s seven checks are the next step. For the story behind the stitches, how Lucknow’s craft grew from Mughal courts to a GI-tagged tradition, read the Legacy of Lucknow Chikankari. Ready to shop by stitch knowledge? Browse Chikankari kurtis and check each piece’s photos against this guide. For a plain-language overview of the craft itself, see what Chikankari is.
When a listing is described simply as tepchi chikankari, it is usually pointing to this foundation work: the long, even running stitch that outlines a motif or fills a large area before the more detailed stitches are added. It is the same stitch this guide calls Taipchi, so a tepchi chikankari kurti should show neat, dashed rows of thread in close-up, rather than raised dots or shadow work.