Cluster Snapshot

Origin of Patchwork can be identified by the style of fabrication, colour usage, composition and the kind of forms of patterns used. History of Patchwork in India can be traced back to the times when the womenfolk of the native communities of north Gujarat; the Kathis (the landowners), the Mahajans (the businessmen), the Rabaris (the nomad camel herders) and the Muslims made large canopies, hangings, friezes, bullock-covers (Jhul), tents for ox-carts, with human and animal figures stitched on them.

 

In Navsari, some started working as a tailor. The women, however, with the leftovers of tailor shop continued making patchwork quilts, Chandarvos (wedding decorations), Torans (embellishment for the entrance of the house), Dharamyas and other decorative items for their homes and cattle. And it was this secondary occupation that brought a ray of light to the artisan families struggling to meet ends at that time.

 

The genesis of the Hand Embroidery craft is more than four centuries old and it is an ancestral work for livelihood creation to the artisan’s vi-se-versa generating reasonable income for the survival of artisans apart from the natural agricultural activities and other village crafts like Patchwork craft in the region.