Chikan is a traditional embroidery style from Lucknow India. Literally translated, the word means embroidery and it is one of Lucknow's best known textile decoration styles. The market for local chikan is mainly in Chowk Lucknow.
The technique of creation of a chikan work is known as chikankari. Chikan is a delicate and artfully done hand embroidery on a variety of textile fabric like muslin silk chiffon organza net etc. White thread is embroidered on cool, pastel shades of light muslin and cotton garments. Nowadays chikan embroidery is also done with coloured and silk threads in colours to meet the fashion trends and keep chikankari up-to-date. Lucknow is the heart of the chikankari industry today and the variety is known as Lucknawi chikan