The typical traditional Karnataka Kasuti art in embroidery may be traced to the period of the chalukyas when a great renaissance in the field of art and architecture took place.This embroidery is prevalent in the districts of Dharwad, Belgaum, Hubli and Mangalore. The secret of this age-old embroidery form is that it can be done only by counting the threads of the warp and weft and the designs can be traced or implanted, as outlines. Traditionally, it is done on llkai Sarees and Blouse Pieces.

Fine Art
Kasuti shows up best on thick materials against dark Indian shades. This embroidery is essentially a decoration for a saree and blouse of the same material and loses its poise and beauty if done on any odd piece. The larger designs feature the temple, the basil(tulsi) plant platform, the elephant with howdah, Nandi the sacred bull etc all near the pallu. As they go down the length, the motifs get smaller and smaller like flowers, birds, animals and a large variety of geometrical designs. Stitches in Kasuti have to be vertical, horizontal or diagonal and the lines or the motifs have to be completed on the return journey filling in the blank portions.

Four types of Kasuti are done i.e. Neyge Kasuti, Murgi Kasuti, Menthya Kasuti and Gavanthi Kasutis. There are about 700 designs under categories like Gandle Kamala, Gopi Kamala Chittu Kamala, Gundala Gopura, Dagabaji Gopura, Gandolagida, Tulasi, Kalee, Peacock, Neuge Godambi, Elephant, Lions, Vankipatti, Kayapatti etc.,

Procedure of making Kasauti Embroidery
The kasuti embroidery of Karnataka is a stylized embroidery with stitches based on the texture of the fabric. The stitches commonly used are the negi, the gavanti, the menthi and the murgi. Gavanti is the most commonly used double running stitch and is worked in horizontal and vertical directions. Murgi is the zig zag done within the darning stitch, akin to gavanti. In both the two sides are neat and identical. Negi is the ordinary running stitch. It is used for large designs and the overall effect is of a woven design by extra weft threads. In fact negi is an off-shoot of the word ney which in Karnataka means weaving. Menthu is a cross-stitch which is closely done by counting of the warp and two weft threads, mainly used in architectural patterns.