The Art of Traditional Hand Quilting

Kowdhi is a traditional hand quilting technique in India from the state of Karnataka. Typically, Kowdhi quilts are made with unused scraps of fabric which are cut up, layered and sewn into a patchwork quilt with old clothes as batting.
After the day’s work, sitting on the verandah, the women settle down to work on their quilts. The sari will serve as a backing for the pattern created from pieces of used clothing, lovingly gathered from family and friends.
These utilitarian efforts have a visual strength one sees in the most sophisticated works of art. Bold and complex, the quilts present a geometry that transcends the decorative. These quilts show that the extraordinary can be found in the simplest of domestic endeavors.
To gift a quilt, sewn with old clothes of the family, for the daughter who gets married, often carries fond memories of the maternal home.
Nirmalakka from Uttara Kannada region is part of BuDa folklore local resource team for 10 years ..She is a teacher and master artisan for BuDa Folklore . There are many interested participants from various part of India and students from various schools are learning this age-old lost tradition of hand quilting through BuDa folklore's workshops in the past 10 years
About BuDa folklore : Buda Folklore, is building a learning community by reviving local traditions and lost crafts as education components that will bring the urban and folk worlds together so that the folklore traditions become relevant to the current world ...