This is a volume with a difference - interpreting the textile through the contemporary craftspeople that make it, as well as including the voices of the designers and craft interventionaries who work with them. A single theme - the story behind the stitches, the people behind the products - runs trhough the book. The articles, by textile historians and designers, civer kani of Kashmir, phulkari of Punjab, chikam of Lucknow, Rajasthani block printing, sujuni of Bihar, weaving and mirrorwork of Kachchh, ari and ari bharat of Banaskantha, daria of Chinnur, Lambani embroideries of Karnataka, and the reslient symbol of swadeshi - khadi.