Patola Heritage

Patola is Silk Saree that is prepared using Silk and Zaree. It is famous as Patan Patola. It is mainly manufactured in India, mostly in Gujarat. 

One of the folk-song of Gujarat in which the wife asks her husband to bring for her Patola of Patan while returning "Chhelaji re mare hatupatanthi Patola monghalavjo"(O my dear! Do bring the precious Patola from patan for me!) Has remained very famous for the last so many years, and so is the fame, charm and popularity of Patola even today. Patola is a holy silk-cloth. It is believed that by wearing Patola containing religious and miraculous powers, one feels god. It was this quality, which made the people of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia value the Patola above all treasures. For them it was a magic cloth, which protected you in battle, which protect you from evil and bad health. It was the power cloth, which was inherited by the women and gave them a very high status. Today it is gifted to the daughter and daughter-in -law on occasions of marriages in rich families as a sign of good omen. It is considered to be bearing a high status. To possess and wear Patola on holy occasions is considered to be a matter of pride of the family and it highlights the culture. The psychological motif behind the specific combination of colours and design of Patola is worth understanding. The square arouses the feeling of security, as woman generally desire security in every part of life. The symbols of elephant, parrot, peacock, kalash(jug) and the people left are all considered to be the auspicious symbol of saubhagya (a women's good luck of having husband alive!) The feeling of good luck and security are imbibed in the Patola, and hence, such auspicious symbols are found in them.

Highlight of this saree is that it can be worn on either side and the design pattern on the original and opposite looks very similar due to the artistic and delicate nature of designs on the patola, a high amount of labour cost is incurred in the production process. Due to durable material and artistic and costly colours, the lifespan of patola sarees is very high.

Thus Patola is part of Indian Handicraft. Handicraft is an important cottage Industry of Gujarat State. It has very good employment Potential in the rural Area. Importance of Handicraft Industry in the state economy lies in the artistic designs, traditional nature, Low capital Investment, family based skill which passes on from generation to generation without any formal training and good market in local area, inside and outside of the state.

Following is the detailed process to prepare the Patola Silk Saree. 

Step 1: Design
Patola designs are visualized on graph paper.

Step 2: Dyeing
Designs are created by tying knots on warp and weft. Cotton thread is used to tie the portion marked out in conformity with the proposed design. Tied portion remains unexposed to color. Portion that was used to absorb one color is tied again to protect while applying color on other portion. Desired design is produced with desired color combination thus by tying, untying, and dying

 Step 3: Weaving
On completion of dying process, the threads of the warp of different repeats of a pattern are put together in a sequence on the loom, so that the design becomes visible. The threads of wefts are wound on to bobbins and kept in the bamboo shuttle for weaving process. The Patola is woven on a primitive hand operated harness loom. Weaving process involves moving bamboo shuttle to and fro through warp shades. Each weft thread is thoroughly examined and matched with each part of the warp design pattern while weaving.

Step 4: Finishing
Final product is reviewed for quality and fine tuning is carried out by weaver to ensure final and enchanting Patola.