Forum Pakistan

A fabric with a complex decorative design on a silk base containing metal threads of gold or silver, or imitations of these metals in the weft, more rarely in the warp. Brocade fabrics of the period of the *Mughal empire, manufactured at the court workshops of Lahore were especially magnificent and refined. Brocade was used in the costumes of court aristocracy, in the scarves, shawls, turbans, belts, etc., and also in the manufacture of curtains, canopies, and bed preads.

Brocade is manufactured through a complex manual process in which the ornament is created by weaving an additional thread in the warp. This thread is woven into the warp with special little shuttles. According to the kind of thread forming the ornament, brocade is called gold, silver, silk, or cotton. True brocade, that is, gold or silver brocade, is called kimkhab.
The main centres of brocade manufacture in Pakistan are Lahore, Karachi, and Khairpur. Saris, scarves, shawls, and other items are woven here. The ornament is mostly floral and stylised geometrically.