Karnataka is famous for its silk work, and Bangalore and Kollegal are both centres of silk sari-weaving in the southern style.

Strong, durable cotton handloom textiles are produced at Bijapur. Of special interest, however, is the kasuti embroidery.

Kannada-speaking women in parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, who make interesting use of very simple stitchery, do such embroidery.

Young girls embroider cholis and the pallavs of saris for their marriage trousseaus using different varieties of running stitch.

Designs are built up in squares and triangles, to form delicate patterns of stylized flowers, animals, birds and even temple carts. The designs are worked in cotton or silk thread, in colors that harmonize with the background cloth.

Kasuti work, like the kantha work of Bengal, was a domestic craft that had declined but has now been revived on a commercial basis.