List of products by brand Breeze

Breeze is an organization held by a group of women working on applique handcraft work. Seema Kidwai, Farida Rizvi and Sabiha Alvi set up a group of about 15 women in Aligarh some 30 years ago to revive the craft of phool-patti or applique work. The women were taught the finer points of the craft like designing, color combinations, with emphasis on maintaining a high quality of work through fine stitches. These women were from underprivileged backgrounds and were quick to realize that the financial gains thus made, gave education to their children and a better quality of life for the family.

 Applique ,the word is said to be borrowed from the French which means applied or thing that has been applied. It is referred to as the surface pattern, which is used to decorate a garment or product. Applique is a needlework method called blind-hem in which patterns with figurative scenes are made by the attachment of smaller pieces of fabric to the backing cloth with distinct color and texture.These works are widely used for quilting that is made with both applique and patchworks. Applique generally refers to fabric used with different designs of shapes on the trim of a garment that can be either sewn or glued. 

 Motifs are cut and stitched to the fabric such that the pattern appears in two colors. Vitality and desire seem to find through the oranges, yellow and vibrant scarlet’s to provide the mood and pace. It is based on patchwork in which pieces of colored and patterned fabric are precisely cut in different sizes, shapes and colors and stitched together on a simple upbringing to form a composite piece. 

 Aligarh is known for its tents or shamiana applique as the same technique is more used for beautifying dress materials. Applique shamiana are found to be normally used for religious and social get together. It is a technique in which pieces of material are stitched onto the ground fabric for embellishing purpose, which is believed to be developed by the possibilities by sewing patches onto the damaged cloth. Range of materials can be employed in applique such as cloth, felt and leather.Applique, patchwork is found to be done on cotton, chanderi, muslin, poplin, georgette, rubiya, silk etc., also tissue cloth.

Breeze has a huge market for their products with great demands. Breeze now has 200

skilled women crafting applique work on sarees, scarf, dresses, bags, home furnishings etc. Seema and her artisans continue to guide them and counsel the next generation of workers who are in the process of learning the craft.