Thursday, December 12, 2024
Gujarat

Arts


Gujarat Handicrafts


Handicrafts

Gujarat has a very rich heritage of  art crafts. The excavations at the Harappan sites in Gujarat at Lothal, Rangpur, Rozdi etc. have brought to light some of the very ancient handicraft articles.

Patola

Patan Pattola Silk SareeThe Patola of Patan is a unique fabric of Gujarat. Patan is a historic town situated on the banks of river Saraswati,130 km from Ahmedabad. Originally known as Anhil-Vad-Patan, the place was founded in 1796 AD. and flourished during the Solanki dynasty. It was the capital of Gujarat from the 8th century till Ahmed Shah moved the capital to Ahmedabad. Textiles like Patola silk and Mushroo weaving originated in Patan from the time of royalty. 

This special variety of women's fabric or Sarees is strikingly attractive with its colourful geometrical patterns and motifs of birds, flowers, animals, human figures etc. This lovely silken fabric, which resembles a printed sari is not an apparel  printed by blocks.

Its tie and weave method resulting in identical patterns on both sides of the fabric involving complicated calculations, is entirely based on the geometry of the design. As both sides have the same design the saree can be worn either way. The process is done in the double ikkat style and consists of dyeing the warp and the weft threads horizontally in conformity with the proposed design on the fabric. Hand-woven, silk yarn called Patola silk is used for weaving. The process is both costly and  time consuming and the market is  limited with the result that the families doing this work are fast dwindling.

Patola is also available from Rajkot which is done in the single ikkat syle and is vertically resist dyed.