Phulkari textiles are traditionally shawls embroidered in silk on coarse handspun cotton fabric made by women in the Punjab, mainly to be gifted as part of a bride’s dower. Phulkari, meaning “flower work”, can be classified into various types, based on the designs and motifs used. The basic phulkari comprises of geometric flower motifs embroidered across the field of the fabric, with the coarse fabric visible. The bagh (garden) style covers the entire fabric with embroidery. The pachranga (five-coloured) bagh refers to the five colours used in the embroidery, symbolically representing the five rivers of the Punjab.
