Vijayawada is famous for Kalamkari fabrics,which offers a wide variety to the aficionados. It includes Hindu mythological characters designs, prayer carpets for Muslims, table clothes, curtain material and of course dress materials. Kalamkari work is done using a 'kalam' or quill and the paint used are vegetable dyes. Sometimes wooden blocks carved into designs are used for printing. The designs commonly used depict animal forms, flowers, birds etc. The process is a painstaking one and the fabric goes through many stages of treatment before the final result is obtained.