Handwoven Kala Cotton Tangaliya Stole- Neel

Seven hundred years ago in Saurashtra, a shepherd's son married a weaver's daughter and both families turned them out. The elders handed them a wooden stick and told them to weave. Their descendants - the Dangasia - are still the only community in the world that makes Tangaliya.

Look closely at this dupatta and you'll see tiny raised dots gathered into four-point clusters, scattered across an undyed ivory field. Those are dana. Each one is made by twisting a contrast thread around four or five warp threads at the loom, by hand, counted from memory. Nothing is printed. Nothing is embroidered. Turn the fabric over and the dots are there on the reverse too, because they aren't sitting on the cloth  they are the cloth.

The base is Kala cotton, an indigenous rain-fed variety grown in Kutch without irrigation or chemical input. Its short staple gives the yarn a slightly uneven, breathing texture - soft but with body, the kind of cloth that drapes rather than clings.

A natural grey selvedge runs along both edges, and the ends finish in hand-knotted tassels in indigo, ivory and red.

clusters, scattered across an undyed ivory field. Those are dana. Each one is made by twisting a contrast thread around four or five warp threads at the loom, by hand, counted from memory. Nothing is printed. Nothing is embroidered. Turn the fabric over and the dots are there on the reverse too, because they aren't sitting on the cloth  they are the cloth.

The base is kala cotton from Kutch: an indigenous, rain-fed, genetically unmodified cotton that has grown in that desert since the Indus Valley, on rainfall alone, without irrigation or chemical input. Short-staple and honest, it gives the fabric its slightly textured hand and its faint uneveness , the mark of a fibre that was never engineered to behave.

Deep madder-red selvedges run the length of both edges. The ends finish in hand-knotted tassels in red and black.

One dupatta. Weeks of counting. A craft that almost disappeared and didn't.

Details

• Craft: Bhujodi extra-weft handloom weaving, Bhujodi village, Kutch, Gujarat
• Fabric: [handspun] Kala Cotton
• Colour: Indigo blue with ivory and red daana; natural grey borderFinish: Hand-knotted macramé fringe with multicoloured tassels at both ends
• Dimensions: approx. 2.10 inches
  

Wash care

• First wash separately in cold water  the colour may bleed slightly
• Hand wash in cold water with a mild liquid detergent; no bleach, no soaking beyond 5 minutes
• Do not wring or brush. Press gently to remove water
• Dry flat or on a line in the shade  direct sun will fade the dye
• Steam iron on medium while slightly damp; iron on the reverse and avoid the tassels
• Do not machine wash or tumble dry. Dry clean is safest for regular wear
  • Store folded in the cotton bag it arrived in, away from damp