Next door, people were working on an equally tedious artform – Thangka Appliqué. Like the Thangka paintings, the fabric designs were very detailed and contained Buddhist motifs rendered in bright colors. In the first step, the powder design is transferred to the cloth through a hole punching method. Fabric of varying patterns and colors were cut into shapes and then sewed by hand onto the cloth. From 300-400 pieces are used on a typical Thangka. The all-important details are intricately stitched using silk thread combined with Mongolian horsehair. Once mounted on plain white cotton backing, the image is then framed in a brocade border. According to our guide, it would typically take one person about 4-5 months to finish one Thangka appliqué, or about 19 days for 20 people.
Read more about Appliqué Thanka at http://www.norbulingka.org/
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