Color Inspiration & warmth

Siddi women working on a quilt for an NGO

Walking down a lonely stretch of road with my thoughts running a 100 miles per hour I suddenly spotted a beautiful quilt put out to the sun. Rich in color, intricate in technique the quilt bought out a sigh of longing - not so much for the quilt but for the hands that have been at work. It's the work of Siddi tribal lineage. Said to be the direct descendants of Africa but over time settled in Karnataka. While they have adopted, adapted, and integrated many aspects of Indian cultures, they have also retained and transformed certain African traditions one of which are the patchwork quilts known as kawandi.

Quilting has always fascinated me. Though I have not attempted to try the technique hands on, I have loved the concept and the motivation the craft brings to the table.

My very own Amish quilt

As a textile student, though I did read a few articles and appreciated a couple of images in the books but my very first initiation into the craft was when I was in Wisconsin I stumbled upon an Amish village which housed a small country shop selling odds & ends. What caught my eye was that half of this little shop was dedicated to selling & displaying Amish quilts of various intricacy that just took my breath away.

Thus began my love affair with hand-made quilts. I took this love a step further when I decided to base my Diploma project on the concept of quilting.

India is not new to quilting though a different form.  People of Kolkatta and Bangladesh used to layer cloth as a concept of reuse and cover them painstakingly with lovely small running stitches. Kantha, India's answer to quilting moved from being a poor man's take on layering garments to keep warm to a high end form of embellishment.

reverable, contrasting layers of woven fabric held together by 'running stitch' weave developed on the loom

So my final year project I decided to take the 2 forms of quilting the Amish block quilting and the Kantha and develop a series of throws that are layered and has the "block" look of an Amish quilt and stitched together simulating the small Kantha stitches all on the loom.

The challenge was when it comes off the loom, it was not only reversablebut also ready to use.  

Its been 10 years since I passed out of design school. Life & work has taken me away from weaving quilting and other things close to my heart but days when i spot something so beautiful in a polluted noisy city brings wonderful memories crashing back. Sigh!

Siddi quilts spotted on the bylanes of Indranagar

Exquisite Double Ikat Patolas

Gujarati Poet Premanand of the 17th century, referred to patolas as 

"Lakho pachhedi pandar kodi, Patola pachas vahuji"

Laish patolu shrikar, sadi nahi pehru" 

I will have 300 upper cloths and fifty Patolas for marriage

I will have the Patola of shreekar (sacred shaped), but will not wear a saree

The elaborately intensive hand woven depiction of flora fauna, stylized elephants, motifs of flowers, jewels and abstracted geometrical patterns along with frolicking maidens dancing on the borders of the sari; all lauding the most beautiful textile craft form the world has ever known. This is the double Ikat craft form as practiced in Patan, a district in North Gujarat.

Though earlier woven in Palanpur and Ahmedabad today the Patola or the singular Patolu are synonymous with the city ofPatan in North Gujarat. 

Before starting with the threads and colors, the process requires creative discovery within the mind of the weaver and Then tie and dye of the yarn both in the warp and the weft comes together as each pattern unfolds on the loom. 

Take time off to look at a piece of Patola, really look at it! see the precision of how all the colours just match to form the auspicious motifs. Without any form of modern technology, the weavers are able to dye the yarns repeatedly to form the design, even before it goes on the loom. 

The history, skill and aura created by this amazing creation in silk has made it an item worth the wait as each sari is an individual work of art taking anything between three to six months to complete.

To watch the masters of the craft at work, or order your own piece, visit 

Vinayak and Bharat Salvi at Patan Patola Heritage +91 2766 231369,Patolawala Salvivado, Patolawala St. 

or Ashok Salvi at Patolawala Farm House +91 2766 232172, 

The price of saris start at 5000 and can go into Lakhs. Hard skilled labour and long time taken for making Patola, make it bit costlier. 

Cost is depending on design pattern but one must remeber that a sati lasts for 80-100 years. It is, therefore, considered as an ornament and a priceless dignity.

For people who don't have a Patola in thier cupboard its time to start humming...."Chhelaji re mare hatu patan thi Patola mongha lavjo"

O my dear! Do bring the precious Patola from patan for me!

For more interesting read: http://gaatha.com/blog/?p=696

http://www.oocities.org/kala-mag/articles/fal02_patola.html

The Dying Industry

Handloom in India has a a rich history. My personal favourite is When Gandhi encouraged people to start spinning their own yarn and weave their own fabric, helping emerge cottage industries. While our ancestors enjoyed products by these weavers scattered all over India by the dozens, our generation sees the effects of industrialization and the dying of such a skilled craft.

Power looms, sweatshop, calculating quantity instead of looking and appreciating the design and quality we have de-moralized the hand loom sector by comparing them to the powerloom sector, expecting the prices to be the same if not cheaper showing no respect to the craftsman who has toiled over the product for many days worrying about every knot, every breakage and every weave.

There is no machines, controls or computers to tell them when to stop to add a colour, when a thread breaks, when a smaller and intricate design has to be added - all this and more are all done by the craftsmen so that when the product is ready its his pride and Joy! Whereas the powerloom sector is like an assembly line. People come people go working on many products a day as qunatity is the name of the game. Nobody cares and knows who is the creator.

Please remeber to buy handlooms when you shop next as you might be the very few in future to own one!!!

To read more: http://www.sarisafari.com/handlooms.html