Chikan was originally a court craft and is derived from the Persian word chikin or chakin, meaning cloth wrought with needlework. It is subtle embroidery, white on white, in which delicate stitches stand out as textural contrasts, shadows, and traceries and stitches are worked from the back and some from the front The fabric used is fine, and traditionally muslin. Many skilled craftsmen, designer, printer, embroiderer, washerman work on a single piece of chikan and often between three to four craftsmen embroider a single garment. Bakhiya, herringbone stitch, done on the reverse of the fabric which gives a shadow effect that became a dominant feature of the craft in the 1980s.