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The women of the
Kharapat Rabari community, a pastoral group, in the
village of Dasada do exquisite embroidery using herringbone
stitches interspersed with small mirrors, and occasional
chain stitches for peacocks and other motifs. At their
houses, you can see fine embroidery on dowry sacks,
a set of eight wall decorations including toran, chakla,
and pardo, horn coverings for their cattle and covers
for their bullocks, chaniya-choli-odhni A set of skirt-blouse-and-veil),
and heirloom pieces. They sometimes have pieces of embroidery
and cushion covers for sale.
The Bharvad women
of Ambala village near Dasada now work largely on embroidery
machines. Attractive pieces can be bought when visiting
this village.
A variety of weaves
can be seen in villages around Dasada. One of the unique
weaves of this region is the Tangalio. Weavers are adept
at adding extra knots on the weft which create motifs
and figures in a dotted pattern on the woven fabric.
Using this technique, artisans weave shawls, stoles
and garments.
Another interesting
weaving method of the region is Ikat, which involves
the continual resist drying of the warp threads before
drawing them on the loom.
While ikat weaving
uses a neutral weft, the double ikat is a form of weaving
that requires exceptional skill and precision. At Patan,
about 80km from Dasada, weavers of the Salvi community
make double ikat sarees called Patola. Because of the
intricate nature of double ikat weaving and the richness
of the fabric produced, Patolas have much commercial,
collectible and historic value.
The Mirs of Dasada
do beadwork to create braids, tassels, and necklaces.
Mir women have begun to make beaded bangles commercially.
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