Pattu Weaving

Pattu: A colorful Decorative textile that born and nurtured amidst dried land of western Rajasthan.

Pattus have been an important part of the traditional dressing of the people in Thar Desert that lies in western part of Rajasthan. Pattus are woollen or cotton blankets woven by Meghwal community of weavers. The craft came to be known as Pattu weaving because the fabrics woven were narrow in width and usually called ‘patti’ (band) in local language. Once off loom, these fabrics strips were placed side by side and stitched to make it into bigger width. These were woven in narrow width usually two feet, and then two panels of nine feet each were joined together length-wise using interlocking stitch called ‘Khilan’. Pattu, being thick and sturdy cloth helped peasant and tribal communities to withstand dust and harsh mode of existence in the desert, and at the same time symbolized their colourful clothing traditions.

Cushion Covers with beautiful Pattu weaving technique.  

What is interesting about this weave is that unlike other weaves in which the borders are woven together with the shawl, pattu uses extra weft technique which looks like kashida embroidery. It is the sole identifying character of a pattu among other woven textiles. All the design motifs have always been inspired by the surrounding landscapes; machli (fish), burdi (hut), tataiya (wasp), chatri (triangular shade), patti (stipes), Bird (chida), trees etc. are depicted by using geometric shapes and patterns.

 

Previously the method was employed to produce special shawls known as Pattu, but overtime it has been used to make wide verity of products.