Kota Doria Cotton Saree Lavender Embroidered Floral Buti

This Kota Doria saree is a soft lavender its sheer cotton silk ground built on the fine square khat grid the weave is named for A multicoloured floral vine runs the length of the pallu and the lengthwise border coral and rose blooms amber buds and small green leaves worked in thread while the open body is scattered with tiny floral buti in the same palette A slim self toned edge finishes the fall The flowers here are embroidered not printed and the difference is easy to read Turn the cloth over and you will find the thread carried across the reverse knots float stitches and the slight unevenness of needlework guided by hand where a printed motif would leave only flat colour on the surface Look closely at the khat grid each tiny square mixes matte cotton with a few silk threads so the sheer ground shimmers unevenly and lets light straight through A powerloom imitation prints a perfectly repeating flower onto uniform synthetic checks a true Kota Doria shows faintly irregular squares an airy hand and buti that sit a millimetre off from one another Kota Doria has been woven for generations in Kaithoon a weaving village near Kota in Rajasthan where the loom passes from one hand to the next The fine yarn is sized with a traditional rice or onion starch paste before weaving the step that lets such a near transparent cloth survive the pit loom at all Light as air it is made for daytime warmth a summer lunch a festive afternoon a mehendi or haldi morning worn over a fitted blouse with small gold jhumkas and bare sandals