A small piece of patterned fabric became a flower petal. Another was tucked into a narrow groove to form the sleeve of a Geisha holding a lantern. Across a classroom at Budha College in Karnal, Haryana, more than 100 first-year fashion design students spent seven hours turning discarded fabric into colourful artworks. They did not use a single needle or thread.Instead, the students used a Japanese art technique called ‘kinusaiga,’ in which pieces of fabric are fitted into grooves cut along a design. Their creations included flowers, landscapes, animals and abstract patterns. The exercise required them to work carefully with different colours, textures and fabric pieces to bring their sketches to life.What began as a classroom assignment eventually reached a much larger audience. Videos of the students’ artworks shared on Instagram have garnered almost 4 million views.
How the students turned fabric scraps into art
The activity began with an introduction to colour theory. Students explored how different shades, textures and patterns could be combined before deciding what they wanted to create. They then sketched their designs on thermocol sheets and carefully cut narrow grooves along the outlines. The students sorted through discarded fabric collected on the college campus, choosing pieces that suited their designs. These were cut to the required sizes and pressed into the grooves to fill the shapes.Unlike conventional patchwork, kinusaiga does not require the fabric pieces to be stitched together. Instead, the edges are tucked into the grooves cut along the design. This makes accurate cutting and placement important, particularly when working with curves, corners and intricate patterns.The technique gave students a different way to work with textiles. They had to think about how the colours and patterns of the available fabric would fit into their sketches, rather than simply selecting new material for a design.Fashion design faculty members Harshita Singh and Komal guided the students through the exercise. The aim was to help them use concepts learnt in class while experimenting with an unfamiliar art form.
What the students created
Photo credit: The Better India
Each student approached the assignment differently. Reya, a first-year fashion design student from Tamil Nadu, chose to create a Geisha holding a lantern. She used discarded fabric collected on campus to complete the artwork. “By upcycling waste fabric sourced from campus into the thermocol board, I created a piece I was genuinely proud of,” she told The Better India.Jahnvi, another first-year student from Jaipur, enjoyed experimenting with different colours, textures and patterns. She said the exercise helped her explore art from a different perspective. Laxmi, a student from Odisha, initially found the technique difficult. However, she said it became easier and more enjoyable with practice. Reshmi, a student from Bangladesh, said the activity gave the class an opportunity to express its creativity while working with discarded materials.The artworks ranged from detailed figures to natural and abstract designs. Although the students followed the same technique, their choice of fabric, colour combinations and patterns gave each creation a different appearance.
A classroom lesson in patience and creativity
For Singh, the exercise was about more than producing attractive artworks. It gave students an opportunity to apply several elements of fashion design, including colour theory, texture, material selection and attention to detail.Using leftover fabric collected on campus also allowed the students to explore how discarded textile material could be reused creatively. However, the college clarified that the artworks were made as part of a classroom assignment. They were not intended for sale and were not linked to a commercial venture or a social cause.
