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This huge handmade antique Patchwork Blanket is made from an assortment of upcycled saris beautifully handstitched together with padding for warmth. This Patchwork Blanket is so versatile being double sided showcasing a variety of vintage sari fabrics. Each piece of fabric holds stories from a member of the family.
Kantha stitched embroidery is one of the most important textile arts in Eastern India. It can be traced back 500 years. All the saris are lovingly laundered, then hand-stitched by the women makers, creating bright futures for mothers and babies in villages across India.
Kantha stitch artisans give new life and purpose to old textiles. This truly is waste reborn into something useful.
This blanket makes a true heirloom with so many stories stitched together. Sometimes within the designs the maker even sews in their hopes and dreams.
Please note we currently have 2 blankets in stock. One is photographed on the bed & wall, the other on the table. Please leave a note at checkout stating your choice.
What is Kantha Stitching?
Kantha means patched cloth. Pronounced “KAHN-taa. It is a small straight running stitch that can be clean and simple or multi coloured and elaborate.
It’s a beautifully simplistic technique that can be compared to the Japanese Sashiko stitching. Both techniques have their roots in recycling and giving new life and purpose to old textiles.
Kantha is a style of stitching found in Indian embroidery, originally found in Bangladesh, Bengal, Odisha and Tripura. Although there are similar styles of this stitch found all over India. Classically created by stacking old saris onto each other and hand stitching them together using a simple running stitch to make a thin cushioned layer.
Traditionally Bengali women layered together old discarded clothing with the simple Kantha (running stitch) style stitching to make a bedspread or bed cushion, repurposing the old into something useful and protective.
Over time the Kantha stitch has grown into a traditional Bengali craft at the heart of their culture. It has become a skill passed down through generations of Bengali families. Quilts and blankets are made and designed from the family's recycled textiles by the women of the household to be given as wedding or new baby presents and eventually becoming family heirlooms.
Kantha stitch embroidery is one of the most important textile arts in Eastern India. It can be traced back 500 years. By using the kantha technique they up-cycled their old textiles into quilts for warmth and comfort. Even the yarn used to make the embroidery was salvaged from the other textiles and clothing.
Approximately 190 cm x 130 cm.
Handmade in India.
Fair Trade.
Handmade in India by fairly paid artisans.
Cool wash is recommended to maintain the integrity of the multi layers of fabric.
Each blanket is entirely unique as made from vintage saris.
Shared Earth's mission is to improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged people in developing countries, benefiting local community projects and keeping alive traditional skills that would otherwise be lost.
Shared Earth aims:
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