The limitations of stop stitch. which allows only straight lines, meant that motifs had to be very stylised. In baghs, often only geometric patterns were used (triangles, squares, diamonds). Other common motifs are taken from daily life, and accordingly the pieces were given very literal names such as gobhi (cauliflower) bagh and mirchi (spinach) bagh. Shalimar and chaurasia baghs recall famous Mughal gardens in their layout, while the ikka bagh is inspired by playing cards (diamond). Other designs include dhoop chhaon (sunlight and shade), laharya (wave,  patang (kite), saru (Cypress), suraj rnukkhi (sunflower), panchranga (five colours) and satranga (seven colours).  

The danga (river) bagh aptly depicts a row of blue wavy stripes on a white ground, while the chand bagh  recalls the play of moonlight with small white or beige lozenges on a dark red field, and the sheeshedar (mirror) phulkari is decorated with small circular mir¬rors on a white ground. On many phulkaris, the form of a bird is emb¬roidered over the whole field, and the phulkaris are named accord¬ingly, the most common being the peacock (mor) and parrot (tota).

Some very special types of phulkaris and baghs were made for more formal occasions. In west Punjab, following the birth of a boy, it was customary, on a day chosen by the local astrologer, to begin a vari da bagh. In an atmosphere of singing, dancing and gambling, sweetmeats and red yarn would be distributed and the newborn's grandmother would place the first stitch on the embroidery. This bagh would later be handed to the boy's bride on their wedding day. Worked in yellow/gold yarn on a red ground, the colours symbolise luck and fertility. The whole surface is covered with diamonds, each enclosing a smaller diamond. In especially good pieces three sizes of concentric diamond are found, the smallest again divided into quarters. The sides and ends usually show various patterns worked in several colours. To produce such a bagh could take over a year. These pieces are today regarded as family heirlooms and worn for a short time as an act of remembrance.

The bawan bagh is very rare as only a few women were able to fashion this type. Bawan means the number 52; in these pieces we usually find 52 different patterns. The field is subdivided into 42 or 48 rectangles, each containing a different multicoloured motif. The remaining four or ten motifs are placed in the side or end borders.

Another more typical bagh is the darshan dwar bagh, meaning “the Gate from which one sees the God”. From the eastern Punjab, this type always has a red ground; a series of large peaked gates are drawn, from four to seven on either side depending on their size and the dimensions of the cloth. The gates adjoin and open inwards; between them are images of people, animals, flowers and plants, or even a railway. The roofs of the gates are worked in multicoloured patterns of triangles and diamonds. Often smaller gates are embroidered in the triangular space between the selvedge and the gate roofs. but without figures. The gate motif was probably derived from the covered veranda which surrounded the temple. These particular baghs were dedicated to the temple after fulfilment of a wish.

A bagh given to bride by her grandmother was known as a chope. These were worked in double running stitch so that the pattern would he visible on both front and back. Worn by the bride as a chador (cloak) at her wedding ceremony and bigger than all other types, the chope is begun by the grandmother after the birth of a girl and can thus he compared with the vari da bagh. The borders of the chope are not embroidered so that a red stripe passes through the textile - a symbol of endless good fortune for the bride. Less often we find the figure of a small peacock or a cow, invoking protection, good luck and well-being.

A rarer type of phulkari is the thirma, the name signifying a white ground. Exclusively made by Hindus, they formed an important part of the dowry of a woman from north-western Punjab. The floral patterns were embroidered in red, violet and green - often so thickly that they give a velvety surface. The ends have characteristic diagonal rows in red satin stitch. The patterns of this type differ markedly from all other baghs and phulkaris. It is interesting to note their similarity to embroideries from Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Produced in east and southeast Punjab, sainchi phulkaris depict scenes of everyday life in the Punjab at the turn of the century and today are perhaps the most valuable and sought-after of all. The motifs were often marked on the cloth with ink and the sketch then filled with darning stitch. Wool or cotton threads are often used instead of silk.

Sainchis can be divided into two groups. The first have coloured representations on a red ground of human figures, beasts, village scenes and so on, without symmetry and end borders. The second group, with black, dark brown or, very rarely, blue grounds, are symmetrically drawn. Here we often see a pattern of five lotus flowers - a large, vibrant blossom in the centre, the other four in the corners. Their arrangement corresponds to those in the suber phulkari, which is carried by the Punjabi bride when she has walked round the holy fire (pherey) seven times. Various traditional ornaments show that sainchi phulkari played a part in the wedding ceremony. Abstract peacocks often appear in the end borders, contributing to the symmetry, while in between are yet more animals and objects, randomly completing the design.