A scrap of patterned fabric becomes a flower petal. Another, tucked carefully into a narrow groove, forms the sleeve of a Geisha holding a lantern. Across the classroom, students lean over thermocol sheets, trimming fabric, testing colour combinations and adjusting tiny pieces until their designs begin to take shape.

At Budha College in Karnal, Haryana, more than 100 first-year Fashion Design students spent seven hours turning discarded fabric into colourful artworks, using a Japanese art form called kinusaiga. There were no needles or threads involved. Instead, the students tucked fabric scraps into grooves cut along their sketches, creating original designs featuring flowers, landscapes, animals and abstract patterns.

Guided by their teachers, Harshita Singh and Komal, the students used fabric collected on campus to explore how leftover materials could find a new purpose.

Turning fabric scraps into artwork

Before picking up their fabric scraps, the students began with colour theory. They explored which shades, textures and patterns worked well together before deciding what they wanted to create.

Once they had settled on a design, they sketched it onto a thermocol sheet and carefully cut grooves along its outlines. Then came the task of bringing the sketches to life.

The students sorted through the discarded fabric, searching for pieces that suited their designs. Each piece had to be cut to size and pressed into the........

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