Patan Patola | 17 Nov 2022

Recently, Prime Minister of India gifted a ‘Patan Patola’ scarf to the Prime Minister of Italy at the G20 summit.

Patola is a double ikat woven fabric, usually made from silk in Patan (North Gujarat).
- Ikat is a method of tie-dyeing the warp or weft before the cloth is woven.
It received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2013.
The ancient art of double ikat or Patola woven in pure silk dates back to the 11^th century.
This peculiar quality has its origins in an intricate and difficult technique of dyeing or knot dyeing, known as ‘bandhani’, on the warp and weft separately before weaving.
- The Patola fabrics bear an equal intensity of colours and design on both sides.
Patola is woven on primitive hand-operated harness looms made out of rosewood and bamboo strips. The loom lies on a slant.
- The process is labour-intensive, time-consuming, and requires a high order of skill and expertise
- It takes three to four months to prepare a tie-died design on warp and weft threads for one saree of six yards.
- While possessing and wearing a Patola is considered a matter of pride, the fabric has largely remained inaccessible to common people because of its high price.
One of the major practitioners of this art form is the Salvi family from Patan.
The other commonly worn Patola is the Rajkot Patola, woven on a flat loom.
Before World War II, Indonesia was the major buyer of Patolas.