Born in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, Sozni work has a history that goes way back. The Iranian scholar- Mir Syed Ali Hamdani, who preached Islam in central Asia at the time, brought various arts and crafts to the region. He was the highest Sufi of Kashmir and Sozni embroidery was one such art form that he introduced in India. He came to practice Islam in Kashmir, bringing seven hundred (700) companions from Persia. Amongst these Persian sayyids, were a few sozni kaarigars. They were the first generation of sozni-kaars in Kashmir and their future generations have kept the craft alive.

When Shah Hamdani discovered the pashmina fabric of Kashmir, he appointed his kaarigars to do sozni embroidery on these soft base fabrics. The cashmere pashmina fabric became all the more regal when sozni motifs were embroidered with needles. As a result of Sufi Hamdani’s arrival, a new sun dawned on Kashmir’s legacy with rich art and culture. 

The process behind making just one shawl, is a long one and takes up to months to finish. Sozni embroidery is almost always done, using woollen and silk threads. Both of these materials are rich in look and feel, which helps in enhancing the designs.  

Design plays a vital role in this embroidery, so choosing the required design is the very first step. Making these designs is no child’s play, so only professionals are appointed for the job. These local professional designers, called Naqash, draw patterns on tracing paper. They have been practising this art for ages and require professional training with a steady hand. Once the design is ready, the exact design is then transferred into a wooden block carving. These blocks are generally made on classic designs, which are used repeatedly. But in the case of new designs, a brand new block is carved out. The purpose of these blocks is that they are dipped in chemical ink, in order to imprint the design onto the fabric without any mistakes. Instead of ink, the charcoal paste is also used for printing. At last, when the design is fully printed on its base fabric, the embroidery process starts; This is the most arduous task out of the lot.

 Depending on the complexity of the design, the embroidery can take a few months or years to finish. This is so because apart from the manual labour that goes into it, each shawl is embroidered by a single craftsman. An embroidery started by one kaarigar, can not be finished by any other. The type of stitches conventionally used in this embroidery is “satin stitch” but, other stitches include chain, herringbone and traditional Kashmiri stitches. A fascinating feature of this work is that the stitches are identical on both sides of the fabric; this is called, Dorukha. A craftsman’s slow pace and careful work guarantee so much precision and excellence. 

In terms of design, they have been pretty much the same for centuries. These include abstract geometric patterns, paisley motifs, the Chinar leaf, Badum (or, almond), floral patterns and shikargarh (or, hunting scenes). 

Bird motifs like parrots, woodpeckers and kingfishers that are seen in the valleys of Jammu and Kashmir, are also famous. All patterns are inspired by the abundance of nature and its sightings.