One of the
best known aspects of Gujarat is
it's tradition of textiles and handicrafts
such as :
BLOCK PRINTED
TEXTILES
The
intricate art of printing fabrics
using wooden blocks is now losing
out to screen printing, but is still
seen in Jetpur on Gondal-Junagadh
road and in Anjar, Bhuj, Khavda, Mundra,
Tera, Nirona and Dhamadka in Kutch
district.
BANDHINI
Tie-and-dyeing
of fabrics is a difficult process
and best seen in Jamnagar city of
Saurashtra region and Naktarana and
Mandvi in Kutch district, but also
in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat.
It is a common cottage industry in
towns like Wadhwan and Dholka.
HANDLOOM & PITLOOM WEAVING
This
is a major activity of Gujarat, and
most common in Dholka taluka. Pitloom
weaving of durries is a popular craft
of Kutch.
PATOLA SILK WEAVING
The
queen of Indian textiles, Patola silk
sarees are made in the intricate double
ikkat weaving pattern seen only in
Patan town of north Gujarat, Okinawa
in Japan and one village in Bali.Besides
the double ikkat Patola, there are
also single ikkat Patola textiles
made elsewhere. Ikkat weaving can
be seen in Mansa and Rajkot. Silk
sarees are manufactured in Surat.
Famous Patola of Patan
Girl engaged in embroidery work
EMBROIDERY,
BEADWORK AND APPLIQUE WORK
Kutch is easily one of the world's
finest centres for embroidery with
various styles differing with the
community and area-Rabari embroidery,
Ahir embroidery, Sindhi embroidery,
Banni embroidery, Mutwa embroidery,
Ari embroidery, Soof embroidery-and
some styles include mirror or bead
inlay. Embroidery is also a major
craft in Saurashtra and north Gujarat,
specially beadwork embroidery seen
in Gondal and other places in Rajkot
district, and leather embroidery
for mojdi footwear in Radhanpur.
Besides fabrics, leather footwear
is also embroidered in Banni region
of Kutch district and Radhanpur
in North Gujarat.Applique work,
the process of stiching fabric patches
together in beautiful patterns,
is another major textile craft of
Gujarat
