Exquisite Kantha Quilts: Handcrafted Elegance for Your Home | Jaipur Handloom / vintage kantha pillows

With their whimsical fabrics and uneven stitching, kantha throws are fun, colorful accessories. Yet like other quilting traditions, the art form has rich cultural roots. For centuries in India and Bangladesh, Bengali women stitched together old saris and cloth scraps to form blankets and cushions. “Kantha” is the Sanskrit word for rags, and old cloth was believed to provide protection from harm.

• A Sanskrit proverb—“Slowly one stitches rags, slowly one traverses the path, and slowly one climbs to the top of the mountain”—connects the craft to the deities Chindadeo and Chindadevi, the Lord and Lady of Tatters.
• Kantha is actually a form of embroidery, sometimes used to depict symbols of nature like the sun or the tree of life.
• Although a simple running stitch is most familiar in today’s imports, women also created elaborate patterns that told family stories—as did African and early American quilters.
• Sometimes several generations of women would work on the same heirloom quilt.
• Both sides of a kantha quilt are equally decorative but not identical.
• Kantha cloth is often made into tablecloths, pillow covers, scarves, and bags, as well as quilts.
• Authentic kantha throws are handmade and will vary in size, color, and pattern.

Whether you’d like to embellish an existing color scheme in a sophisticated living space or create a more relaxed bohemian vibe – here’s five reasons you need to get yourself a Kantha quilt to bring some light, history and fun into your life!

1. BED SPREAD, QUILT OR COVERLET

Probably the most common modern use for the Kantha quilt – they’re great all year ’round. Wonderful layered, for that true ‘boho’ look, they can provide instant warmth on those chilly nights, but they can also be light enough to use in warmer months if they have more delicate cotton layers.

2. CURTAINS OR ROOM DIVIDER

Simply adding curtain clips along any edge of a kantha quilt can instantly turn it into a wonderfully colorful curtain or room divider – with a hippie Indian tapestry vibe. Here at Jaipur Handlom we like to keep open-minded and let you decide what uses you can get out of our beautiful range of kantha quilts and blankets, leaving them untouched, as-is.

3. COUCH THROW OR BLANKET

Another favorite in our home is a couch throw – whether it’s literally thrown onto the couch to give a much needed splash of color or pattern, neatly folded or hung on the back of the sofa or armrest, the Kantha throw can be used to liven up a couch or as a blanket for snuggling up under (with popcorn of course)!
Alternatively, a fun weekend break from night re-runs of Friends or Breaking Bad could have you set up some floor cushions and layer them with kantha quilts for a romantic setting. Perfect for that cheeky glass of wine and Indian curry you’ve been dreaming about all week.

4. WALL HANGING AND TAPESTRY

Kanthas make great wall hangings and can be an incredible talking piece for a lounge feature – or even an office space. The best thing about it is the 2-in-1 feature of the kantha – as they are double-sided they can be flipped creating a dynamic wall space!

5. PICNIC BLANKET

Our favourite use of these gorgeous colorful kantha's is the picnic blanket. Kanthas are the ultimate picnic blanket – versatile, colourful and even reversible – so you really get a choice of 2 designs each time! Light enough to carry or stash in your bike basket, you’ll be the envy of all the other plain plaid blanket owners in your local park. You can keep a small kantha rolled up in your glove compartment for the impromptu country picnic getaway at any time, you can even have an indoor picnic in the middle of your lounge

Shop now for Kantha Quilts, throws, or buy a Kantha Blankets.

Kanthas are ideal for bedding – as a quilt, coverlet, bedspread, bed throw, blanket… The multiple layers of cotton make for excellent Indian cotton bedding, naturally insulative without the need for any synthetic wadding.

Being vintage, handmade and often made using natural Indian dyes they are one of the most eco-friendly, cruelty-free & sustainable quilts available.

Kantha embroidery has become one of the most popular forms of embroidery in the present time. This style hails from West Bengal, however, over the time it has spread itself across the country. Not only this, various forms of Kantha styling have made their debut on a global level too. As a result, Kantha is being sold like hotcakes by the Kantha wholesalers across the country and abroad.

Kantha embroidery was traditionally dedicated towards creating dhotis, quilts and sarees. However, over the time, the culture and fashion of Kantha evolved itself to make its entry into the Indian fashion as well. The yarn is now taken from all the old and ragged sarees after which the design is traced. Finally it is covered with the running stitches and made into various apparels.

The handloom industry, too, is making the most use of Kantha embroidery. The beautiful Kantha embroidery is seen and found on a number of pillow covers, shawls, dupattas as well as several home furnishings.

According to famous Kantha wholesalers, day to day life is considered to be the biggest source of inspiration behind this craft. Kantha involves the designs of a number of motifs of different figures of birds, animals, folk scenes, fishes and various imagery depicting different views of livelihood of the people living in Bengal. Apart from this, reprocessing and recycling is considered to be yet another form of motivation of the Kantha embroidery. This is because initially the women would recycle their old clothes to turn and transform them into something more practical such as blankets, covers for furniture, etc.

The demand for Kantha embroidery is not just restricted to India alone, but the same has received a global recognition. The designers in the United States of America, Australia,  UK and Japan are reaching out to local Kantha wholesalers to use this form of embroidery into their own designs. Kantha is being promoted globally in a number of forms.

Kantha work has been in flourishing itself for centuries and it still makes the Indian fashion and handloom industry go around.  Jaipur Handloom is one of such kantha wholesalers where Fair Trade Kantha is ethically produced.  The recycled saris used to make our beautiful pieces are acquired through social donations and since the cloth is re-purposed it means no new dyes or inks. Our handmade Kantha products are then hand-sewn and hand-stitched by a group of marginalized women artisans in an environment of community, unity and cohesion.   It is a happy and social communal workplace full of smiles and laughter as their children play together.

Few words from our  women artisans:

“We can spend more money on our families now. Whether we want to send our kids to private school, invest in property or buy groceries — we can do it. We can do anything now.” — Anita

“I liked the education workshops in communication. It helped me improve my life in every dimension.” — Anita

“My husband tries to tell me that I can’t go to work. But I make the money now. So I say no, I have to work. It’s my money & it’s my future.” — Gita

“5 years ago I didn’t think I could be here. But I am here. And I am happy now.” — Jyoti

“We have something to be proud of now. To leave the house, work, earn, and set an example for our children — it’s everything.” — Seema

“I have taught them to be hopeful. They have taught me to be hopeful. We can do it. We are in it together.” — Vinita

“My sister borrows used books from the school and gives them to me. When my husband and my children are sleeping, I study. I will pass 11th class this year & 12th class next year. I didn’t know I could do that before.” — Mamta

Because of Fair Trade, their craft provides so much more than living wage for these women in poor communities, it prevents exploitation.  Fair Trade allows families and communities the opportunity to stay together, in their village instead of moving to big cities in search of opportunity that they will not likely find.   

Shop Jaipur Handloom’s Wholesale vintage kantha collection and contribute towards kantha community.