ANARKALI SUITS/ BASIC ANARKALI PATTERNS

Anarkali suits have been in fashion from several decades. They became a rage when they were worn by actresses in old Hindi movies and continue to be one of the most sought after Indian dresses due to their royal charm and elegance.

The basic anarkali top has a high waist body and the lower part has a large volume of cloth pleated and stitched to the upper part. Usually a band is stitched at the joint. It is worn long with Churidhar pants. Of late several new designs of anarkali suits are available in the market. Some of the common ones are given below.

1. Anarkali with multiple kallis

Instead of cloth being pleated and stitched for the lower part as in normal anarkali, this method involves cutting the cloth into small kallis and stitching them together. The USP here is that there are no pleats and hence there is no volume at the waist. Another benefit of this pattern is that you can have kallis of 2 or 3 colours.

2. One piece anarkali

Here a single piece of cloth is used for both upper and lower parts. The upper part is pleated at regular intervals and stitched on the top in long vertical lines. As a result directly creating pleats at the lower part. This usually does not have a band at the waist.

3. Anarkali with layers or tiers

In this type of anarkali suit 3, 4 or 5 layers are pleated and stitched one below the other. The layers can be of the same colour or 2 or 3 different but related colours.

4. Anarkali with umbrella cut skirt

Here the cloth is cut in umbrella style (half or full depending on the cloth used) and stitched to the upper part with or without a band. Due to the style of the cut there are no pleats, not many joints and hence has a nice appearance.

The tutorial on how to stitch Anarkali suits can be found here.