Patola Silk – A gift of Gujarat

One of the finest handloom silk saree available in India is the Patola Silk saree from Gujarat. These colourful sarees with an alluring presence have been preferred and worn by women since the 12th century AD. Beautiful look with outstanding designs are a speciality of these sarees. In general, these sarees are 45-54 inches wide and 6-9 yards long. It almost takes around 6 months to complete one single saree.

History of Patola Silk

The saree originated from the city of Patan which was the then capital of the Solanki Rajput kings in the 12th century. During that time the Salvi weavers from Maharashtra and Karnataka arrived and made an important contribution in the production of Patola silk.

The manufacturing process

The manufacturing process is very rigorous and lengthy in nature. A single Patola saree may take upto six months or more to complete depending on the length and quality of the saree. In this blog we will share with you'll the steps involved in manufacturing a Patola Saree. Step 1: Tie the yarn with cotton according to the predetermined pattern. This is done by a very experienced artisan. Step 2: Now comes the step of tying and dying of the yarn according to the specific colour patterns and orders. Step 3: The loom is a bit tilted on one side and two men sit together and work on a single saree.

Patterns and Designs

Every community in India has contributed in the design patterns of Patola Sarees. This is why you can choose your favorite one from a lot of variations. The Jain and Hindu communities generally prefer double ikkat sarees with designs of dancing patterns, elephants, flowers etc. The Muslim communities in India prefer Patola with geometric and floral design patterns which are worn occasionally by them on special days mainly during the wedding. The Marathi Brahmins wear these sarees with plain design and dark color borders.

Key features

• In a double Ikkat Patola, the saree looks same from either side. So, a lady can wear it from any side.
• The manufacturing process is very much time consuming as it takes almost six months to complete one single saree.
• The dyes used are all natural dyes extracted from leaves and flowers of different plants and trees.
• The color and design of these sarees will never fade away even after several washes.

How to identify

In today's market, fake products are found in abundance. So, these are some of the valuable points in order to keep you aware of the fake products and identify the genuine one.

• The color never fades and it is also believed that it lasts for about 300 years.
• Please be sure that the material used is silk and not cotton.
• The price of the saree is never very much less. It is a costly one.

Maintainance

Every saree is special for women, but one needs to maintain the saree to keep its beauty intact. The following are some of the tips to maintain a Patola saree.

• Never use any sort of detergent to wash the saree.
• Never expose it to harsh sunlight and keep it in a cool place.
• Keep the saree in a neat and clean saree bag.
• Try to keep the saree away from stains.