For over 500 years, impoverished women in rural India have practiced the art of Kantha. The tradition started out of necessity as these women needed a way to keep their families warm and protected from the elements but lacked the means to purchase anything. They layered together scraps of clothing and rags and stitched them into quilts with a very simple running stitch. This is where the word Kantha derives its origins, it comes from Sanskrit and it means “rags”.
Today, marginalized women in rural India carry on the tradition by collecting and hand stitching layers of sari scarves.
What is a Sari?
Saris (also spelled Sarees) are the traditional, brightly colored scarves worn by most women in India. Typically saris are made of either 100% cotton or silk. Impoverished women in the working class tend to wear cotton saris while affluent women tend to wear silk and other blended fabrics.
How are kanthas made?
Your quilt started out as multiple pieces of sari scarves. Cotton saris that were previously worn by lower class and working women are collected by women from poverty stricken communities in India, and hand stitched into vibrant quilts as a way to provide for their families. Each quilt is embroidered with thousands of tiny stitches and multiple different patterns to create a beautiful one-of-a-kind piece.
Because these quilts are made from previously worn and vintage fabrics, they may contain minor imperfections such as small stains. We feel these marks add authenticity and tell the story of the fabric. The journey started with working and lower class women who wore the saris, it continued to impoverished women who collected and crafted them into vibrant quilts. Kantha Love, a woman owned business, imports these beautiful quilts that eventually arrive in your home.
What is Block Printing?
Block Printing is a beautiful art, all done by hand. Each pattern is hand-carved in a block of wood, often by the men in the village.
Then the women in the village use each block as a stamp to print patterns on fabric. Often multiple block stamps are used to layer intricate designs using multiple colors.
Many of our products feature block printing, and some even include both block printing and kantha stitching.
Through this process, each item is guaranteed to be a unique 1 of 1 piece with its own story.
Helping Women Rise
Your kantha quilt makes a difference
Many women in India live in some of the most impoverished areas of the world and don’t have hope of rising out of destitution. Out of desperation to survive they often turn to sex work, bonded labor or sweatshops that mistreat them and pay as little as $.05 - $.15 hour.
I purchase these quilts directly from the women who make them. Each Kantha quilt you purchase from Kantha Love helps provide a woman with a respectable income to support her family and empowers her to rise out of unimaginable poverty.
I buy each quilt at a fair price, directly from the women who make them.
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