Made in Multan

What is tilla embroidery?

Tilla is metallic thread embroidery worked by hand, with fine gold or silver coloured thread laid across the fabric and stitched down along its length rather than pulled through. It is a Kashmiri tradition by origin, carried across the region for generations on wedding and occasion wear. The karigars who work it for us are here in Multan, on wooden frames, one panel at a time.

The word tilla comes from the metallic thread itself. Because the thread is stiff, it is not sewn through the cloth in the ordinary way. It is laid on the surface and tacked down with tiny stitches of silk, a technique called couching, which is why finished tilla work sits slightly proud of the fabric and glows rather than glares.

One honest note on origins, because our whole case is that we can be checked. Tilla as a named tradition is documented as Kashmiri metallic-thread hand embroidery, historically worked in real gold or silver. It is not a Multani invention. What Multan brings is a deep hand-embroidery trade of its own and the karigars who work metallic thread and beadwork by hand, which is who finishes our pieces. We say this plainly rather than claiming a heritage that is not ours.

How is a hand embroidered abaya made?

A hand embroidered abaya is made in five stages, and the embroidery happens before the garment is stitched together, on flat panels stretched on a wooden frame. Here is the order of work in the Multan workshop we use.

1. 01

   The design is drawn, then pricked

   A karigar draws the motif on tracing paper and pricks the outline with a needle. Fine chalk powder is pushed through the holes onto the fabric, leaving a dotted line to follow. Nothing is printed and nothing is machine placed, so no two panels are identical at close range.

2. 02

   The fabric goes on the adda

   The panel is stretched drum tight on a wooden frame called an adda. Tension is the whole craft. Too loose and the metallic thread puckers the weave, too tight and the fabric marks. A senior karigar sets the frame before anyone touches a needle.

3. 03

   The tilla is couched down

   Metallic thread is too stiff to pass repeatedly through fine fabric, so it is laid on the surface and held with tiny stitches of matching silk. This is called couching. It is slower than ordinary embroidery, and it is why the gold sits proud of the cloth and catches light as you move.

4. 04

   Beadwork and finishing

   Beads and sequins go on last, set individually by hand, each one knotted so a single snag cannot unzip a row. The panel comes off the adda, is brushed clean of chalk, then goes to the stitching table to be joined into the abaya.

5. 05

   Checked twice before it is packed

   Every finished abaya is checked on a hanger under daylight for shade match, seam finish and loose thread, then checked again as it is folded. The two of us do this ourselves. It is the last step before your parcel is taped shut.

Who is a karigar?

A karigar is a skilled hand craftsperson, and in Pakistani embroidery it means the person who actually works the needle. The skill is learned over years beside a senior karigar at the same frame, not in a classroom, and it is why the workshops that are good at this are old and clustered in a handful of cities.

Multan is one of those cities. Hand embroidery here has been carried on wedding and occasion wear for generations, alongside the blue pottery and the shrines the city is better known for. We work with a small workshop directly rather than through an agent, which means we know who worked a panel and we can send it back if it is not right.

How long does hand embroidery on one abaya take?

A heavily worked front panel and pair of cuffs takes a karigar several days at the frame, which is the single largest cost in a piece like Noir Grace. Machine embroidery would take minutes and cost almost nothing, and you would see the difference immediately: machine work is flat, identical and dense, hand work is raised, slightly irregular and catches light unevenly.

That irregularity is not a flaw to be apologised for. It is the only reliable way to tell the two apart at arm's length. Karigar hours are the single largest cost in a hand-worked piece, which is a large part of what an abaya actually costs in Pakistan.

How do I care for tilla embroidery and beadwork?

Hand wash or dry clean anything carrying tilla or beadwork, never machine wash it. Metallic thread abrades against a machine drum even on a gentle cycle, and a single caught bead can pull a run through a row. The rest of the rules are short.

• ✦Hand wash or dry clean anything with tilla or beadwork. A machine drum will abrade metallic thread even on a gentle cycle.
• ✦Turn the abaya inside out before washing so the embroidery faces away from the friction.
• ✦Never iron directly on tilla. Press from the reverse with a cotton cloth between the iron and the work.
• ✦Store it on a wide padded hanger rather than folded on a shelf. Folding creases the metallic thread along the fold line and that crease does not come out.
• ✦Keep perfume and hairspray off the embroidery. Alcohol dulls the metallic finish over time.

For the plain fabrics without handwork, the rules are different and simpler. How to wash a Nida or crepe abaya covers temperature, drying and ironing fabric by fabric.

Last reviewed 22 July 2026.