These Beautiful Maps Of Pakistan And India Show Each Region's Textiles

The textile art of India and Pakistan is some of the most stunning artisanal artwork being made in the world today. Thanks to Pakistani clothing brand Generation and India’s largest online ethnic store, Craftsvilla, you can easily learn more about this incredible, generations-old art form through stunning embroidered maps, which highlight each region’s textile expertise.

It appears this beautiful and educational project began in late January 2017, when Craftsvilla published a ‘fabric tour of India’ on their website. Through the form of an embroidered map, they highlighted the fact that the fabric used to make traditional Indian attire varies state by state. According to the post, ‘every region has its own handloom techniques that are used to weave many unique fabrics.’

The map—a work of art in itself—also highlights the various techniques used in each region. And, along with this, Craftsvilla published illustrated descriptions of each region and their fabrics.

In what feels like a beautiful show of solidarity between the two often opposing countries, Generation has followed suit, creating their equivalent textile map of Pakistan, which has since gone viral with over 20,000 Twitter shares.

From beadwork to cross-stitch to soft and light chunri embroidery, each area is represented with a swatch of fabric that comes together to create a colorful and meaningful map of the culturally rich country.

It is always inspiring to see art used to share knowledge, and this example feels especially relevant, connecting two cultures that, though very different, share a lot in common too.