TALES 》 Patola Sarees Cotton and Silk from Gujarat India

Exquisite craftsmanship, the treasured intensity of colorful art

During olden days these sarees were much in demand and loved by aristocratic and royal families. The traditional double ikat Patola which originates from Patan, small little town which is north of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state. Creating designs by tyeing knots on warp and weft, it takes around three to four months to prepare tie and dyed on warp and weft threads for one saree. Patola saree art was much of labour-intensive, with the combined effort of four weavers, it would take anywere around a six months to a year to weave a masterpiece saree from the scratch, its perseverance in doing it from the time of process of dying that is the reason it was too expensive, and was worn only by the royal and upperclass, who were able to pay for opulence. The attention of technique of weaving these colorful sarees was only taught to son to carry forward. Patola sarees are not just sarees they are top handcrafted ones with excellence. Behind the masterpieces the community who is involved in weaving these sarees are Hindu Salvi caste. It is said that locally the Patola silk saree would be given as a gift to the bride at her ceremony. Owning to its distinct colors, designs and the richness of the fabric.

The proud Patan Patola receives geographical indication (GI) tag, and are available in mediums such as

Patola silk sarees, Patola Tussar silk
Patola cotton sarees
Patola georgette sarees

The process involved in making of Patola sarees are, colouring, techniques of tying, dyeing and weaving. Depending on the pattern of weaving there are two types of Patola sarees

Rajkot Patola, consists of only vertically resist-dyed(single ikkat)
Patan Patola, consists of horizontally-resist dyed(double ikkat)

Festivity of Patola motifs
Essentially the designs are based on a traditional motif called 'Bhat' and they are different designs included, one finds the story from the motifs and designs are repetitive yet appealing. Geometric patterns and abstract designs are much loved and prefered by Jains, Muslims prefer the Vohra Gaji Bhaat and Gujarati Hindu women prefer the elephant, flower, girl, parrot and paan designs. Most seen motifs are popat known as parrot, kiinjar known as elephants, dancing woman as nari, human figures, paan bhat known as paan leaf or peepal tree leaf design, akhrot bhat is a walnut motif, chhaabdi bhat known as floral basket design and was largely used by brahmins, most expensive design is NariKunjar bhat which is of a women and an elephant, fulvali bhat is a flower pattern.

Products of Patola
Patola silk sarees, Patola stoles, Patola duppatas, Patola wall art, Patola scarfs, Patola dress materials, Patola clutches, Patola potlis, Patola Handkerchiefs, Patola curtains, Patola bed spreads, Patola turbans, table cloths, Patola lace, Patola shawl, Patola products are great in demand in countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Paris, London, Tokyo, Washington and Moscow.

Fabric care for Patola silk saree
Please check out for specific care instructions on the garment tag, once you purchase and follow the instructions carefully, it addition to it, here are certain guidelines

Patola saree should only be given for a dry clean
Never squeeze or wring the fabric
Iron the fabric on a medium-low heat
Avoid storing these sarees in polythene bags, store them in a muslin cloth
Change the saree folds once in a while to ensure that the fabric doesn’t tear from the creases

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