All about the Kantha fabric

India is famous for its textile market. If you visit the local markets, you will witness a variety of textile embroidery work that you would not have seen before. Each part of India specializes in one or the other form of embroidery. One of the most famous kinds of embroidery found in India is Kantha embroidery. It is also famous as Kantha fabric. The Kantha fabric art form originated in the pre-Vedic period. This practice involves the stitching of patchwork cloth from rags or discarded clothes. Kantha fabric became repositories for memories and well wishes that were weaved onto them. This art form became a major skill set and a mode of earning for rural women.

The profession of stitching kantha fabric was not a monetised profession in the earlier ages. Still women took it up as a job for them. The word ”Kantha” refers to the running style of a stitch as well as the finished product of a patched-up cloth. The best part of kantha fabric by yard is that it is no more limited to Indian territory. The craft of Kantha fabric stitching is practiced today by numerous South Asian women.

 The History of Kantha Fabric
When anything famous is discussed, it is always logical to trace the history of that particular thing. The art of kantha stitching began about 500 years ago. The poet Krishnadas Kaviraj wrote in his book Sri Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita how Chaitanya’s mother sent a homemade Kantha to her son in Puri. Kantha fabric by yard found its genus in the rural settings of Bengal. But this art could not survive much and it almost vanished in the early 19th century. It was during the freedom struggle the kantha fabric got a resurrection. As a part of the rural reconstruction program, the Kantha stitch was revived during the 1940s by Protima Devi.

The kantha fabric by yard has seen a lot of ups and downs. The Partition of India in 1947 posed a giant hurdle for the Kantha craft. As the conflict between India and Eastern Pakistan (which is now Bangladesh) ensued, the commoners waded through the murkiest waters in the history of the country. Kantha began to experience its rebirth after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Finally, it was revived as a traditional craft of esteemed heritage and developed into the contemporary industry.

It is not easy to produce a kantha fabric by yard. This technique survices on a hardcore labour. Kantha fabrics are driven by labor-intensive techniques. Apart from the labour there are various other factors that influence the kantha fabric. Some of them are climate, geography, economy, and material availability. The traditional method involved stitching together old clothes, like cotton sarees, dhotis, and lungis, which had become incredibly soft due to continuous wear. 

If you are looking to buy kantha fabric by yard online, Navyas Fashion is your one-stop shopping destination.

Visit Navyas Fashion and buy kantha fabric online.