Can someone please explain an list the common words used to refer to the work on Indo/Pak clothing such as kaam, zaardosi etc. I always get them confused 
and I know there are probably many other decriptions that Iāve come across, but I know zaardosi and kaam are two that Iāve seen often.
Thank you.
Re: Embroidery Terms
Kaam means work- i dont think its an embroidery term. I have heard resham, tilla, kora and dhabka in Pakistan.
Re: Embroidery Terms
Kaam does mean work, but it refers to embroidery in general. So you can say to someone āI like that kaam on that girlās shirt.ā
Zardozi and zari are synonyms and refer to any gold or metallic embroidery. Iāve noticed that people from Karachi use the term zardozi more, and the people of Lahore use the term zari more.
Types of zari kaam are dabka, tilla, kora, ari, nakshi, etc. Literally there are dozens upon dozens of types of zari, but most are technical terms for the people who do it. Dabka is the kind of embroidery that is made of thin gold thread (almost a wire) thatās been coiled around. Most wedding clothes have dabka in them. In the website Iāve listed below, look the fourth picture down. The leaves are made of dabka. Kora is a flat golden stitch, ari is a very fine flat golden chain stitch usually used to outline other embroidery, nakshi is a shiny, faceted type of stitch. To see ari, look at the last picture that shows the resham work. If you look carefully, you see a golden outlineāthatās ari work.
Other types of kaam include things like beads, salma sitara (sequins), cut-dana (thin, short tubular beads), nalki (thin long tubular beads).
Resham work is traditional thread (not metallic) embroidery. Things like satin stitches, french knots, chain stitches, lazy daisy, ribbon work, etc are resham embroidery. When embroidery is just resham, the term for that is ākarhai.ā So you can say āThat womanās shirt has nice karhai on it.ā
For reference, look at the following page:
http://www.ajantaembro.com/Material.htm
Re: Embroidery Terms
Thanks, Raatkirani. Your response has really helped clear up my confusion. I am actually saving your response and will continue to use it as a reference. Do you know where one would learn such embroidery arts? Is is traditionally passed from one generation to another wiithin families? Are there schools in Pakistan that teach such skills?
Re: Embroidery Terms
Hey raani, how do u know all this stuff? have u professionally studied fashion?
I personally hate dabka work 
and i love sequins/beads/stones 
Re: Embroidery Terms
My daadi jaan says girls today know more about makeup then about traditional embroideries- that she is right about. I know that two generations ago all girls were taught all the needle point styles including the dhabkas and salma sitara etc. Now few of us can even make a button hole by hand :)
Re: Embroidery Terms
To answer all the questions, I've never studied fashion, but when I got married, I was very inquisitive and asked the shopkeepers a lot of questions. That's how I learned. :) Personally, I like all work, traditional and modern. I like dabka a lot if it's done right because it gives dimension to the outfit. It was out of fashion for the past three or four years, but now it's back with a vengeance (traditional bridal wear is making a strong comeback). Stones are so pretty too, they look great under the light.
As far as learning embroidery goes, traditionally, only men, and specifically Muslim men, did zari kaam. There's a belief that women shouldn't do zari work because their hand sweat is more acidic than a man's, and that would tarnish the work if the woman was to spend days upon days touching it when stitching. Sounds crazy but that's the reasoning. In Pakistan, you never see a woman at an adda (workshop).
Women do other types of embroidery, mainly resham and cross-stitch, beads, mirror work, and other non-metallic things. They also do crochet and knitting. And many of them would embroider their own jahez outfits and jahez household items with such things. My dadi and nani both embroidered their own bed sheets, pillow cases, tea cozies etc, as well as several of their shalwar kameez. (I wish they had kept that stuff--it could have been a family heirloom). And then when they had children, they'd knit the babies blankets and clothes.
Nowadays, your best bet is to learn from your elders, or in the US, there are plenty of classes available for learning as well. Just go to any fabric store and they should have information about classes. In Pakistan, there are home economic colleges (the one in Lahore is particularly good), and they do teach things like sewing and basic embroidery.
I guess girls nowadays don't learn these things because all this stuff is readily available in the market. Also, girls go to school now and are more into education. In the old days, girls never went to school (both my nani and dadi are pretty much illiterate), and learning to sew, cook, and embroider was their only education.
Re: Embroidery Terms
Hey this is great...wish i had it when i was shopping for my wedding..
Re: Embroidery Terms
Thanks raatkiraani! I think its nice to be well versed with things that relate to our culture even if we are not shopping, its just good to have that GK.