Kotpad Sarees

Kotpad Handloom Cotton Sarees

Kotpad handloom sarees are one of the finest sarees of Odisha and are the first ones to get the crown of GI tag. The sarees are famous for their subtle organic colors and cute little motifs all over. The handlooms of Odisha are woven by the tribal weavers and have traveled around the world and been to a lot of international festivals. Kotapad Cotton Sarees with a solid border and Pata Anchal, with typical buta motifs highlight the saree. Authentic kotpad saree can easily attract the eyes to the creative work on it.

Belongingness

Kotpad handloom Sarees belong from the village named Kotpad in the Koraput district. The village has a group of tribal “MIRGAN” who are dedicated to producing unique vegetable dyed fabric for making Kotpad handlooms. Each thread and hue of Kotpad is made out from the colors of nature. The handlooms of Kotpad are also regarded as eco friendly sarees as it uses vegetable colors, cow dung, ash and castor oil.

The Beautiful Work and Color

The body of the Kotpad Cotton Sarees is dyed many times to get the darker shade. The bold and attractive borders of Kotpad Saree are made by interlocking threads and creating patterns of conch, boat, fish, temple and many patterns and structures. Kotpad Sarees come in limited shades mostly in brown, white, maroon pink and yellow making it more exclusive.

One piece of this exclusive kotpad saree saree takes around 30 days. Hence kotpad saree making is organic, labour intensive and a lengthy process. The exclusivity of Kotpad Sarees got a GI tag in the year 2005.

Long Process

The weaving process of the kotpad handloom saree is tedious and painstaking. The dedication of the worker and the detailed work raises the price of the saree. The weaving process of the kotpad handloom saree is extremely intricate and it takes fine and experienced figurework to make Kotpad cotton saree. Men and women both participate in the process of making Kotpad cotton Sarees and earn their livelihood. These help the artisans to earn their hard labor and the world can know about the exclusive handloom of Kotpad.

After the yarn is dried , it is stretched and then wound onto a wooden frame called Bharani. In their courtyard they prepare the warps of the yarn and fit them on the loom. With a bamboo stick they separate the warp threads and the rest of the loose yarn is rolled onto a long stick. The yarn from the stick is transferred to the shuttle. After which begins the weaving process.

The weaving begins after the rain and involves both hands & feet and is mostly done on the handloom. Traditionally kotpad handloom sarees are woven in the thick handspun cotton yarn of counts of 10s or 20s. Simple mechanisms pull the shuttle on a pit loom in the weaver’s home itself. Kotpad cotton saree weaving techniques create an embroidery like pattern on the fabric. The wooden shuffle first is inserted into the weft & provides the patterns woven into the body of the textile.The surface of the Kotpad handloom fabric becomes thicker when a dense border pattern is added. Slowly and steadily we can see the pattern being accurate on the fabric making the traditional kotpad handloom saree. To make the hours of dedicated work published and take it to the market organizations like Indianvillez help them out.

What Makes Kotpad Handloom Saree so Special?

The detailed process of the kotpad saree itself glorifies the kotpad handloom saree. The hours of dedication put into a saree which takes around 20 days just for one piece is extremely exclusive. Beside the long process, the natural materials used are one of the major highlights of the kotpad handloom saree. For coloring of authentic kotpad saree is done with the natural dye coloring derived from the AUL or madder dye (Morinda Citrifolia) extracted from the root of the Indian Madder kotpad handloom sarees are prepared out of natural resources which are non-toxic and are skin friendly.

The motifs of the saree the motifs used usually are crab, fish, conch boat, axes, fan, bow, and a temple which reflect the cross-cultural linkage of the local Kotpad (Odisha ) region. Authentic kotpad handloom saree comes in a limited color range which makes the saree exclusive and beautiful. The shades of the kotpad cotton saree are eco-friendly , sustainable and very pleasant shades.