Kota Doria Dress Material Indigo Blue Floral Buti

This cotton dress material is hand block printed in Kaithoon the weaving village near Kota in Rajasthan that gives the cloth its name The sheer ivory white ground is built from the signature khat the fine square check formed by alternating cotton and silk yarns and the top fabric carries upright floral bouquet buti in indigo blue with dusty rose blossoms set in neat columns The matching dupatta repeats slender red fern sprigs across the body and finishes with a blue floral border To know you are holding the real handloom lift the cloth to the light the little squares of the khat are never mechanically identical each is a hair different in size and the silk threads in the grid catch light with a faint sheen the cotton threads do not The bouquet motifs are stamped by hand from carved wooden blocks so the indigo and rose dyes soak right through to the reverse and the motif edges feather softly where the colour meets the porous weave A powerloom copy gives you perfectly even squares in synthetic yarn and a screen print that sits only on the surface crisp edged on the front and pale on the back Kota Doria is a GI protected weave Kaithoon s weavers still strengthen the fine yarn with onion juice and rice starch before it goes on the loom which is why a new piece feels lightly crisp and softens beautifully after the first wash The open weave makes it one of the airiest cottons you can wear through an Indian summer Stitch it into a kurta with the dupatta draped over a daytime wedding an office day or a festive lunch the blue and rose palette stays cool and understated while the hand print keeps it unmistakably crafted not mass printed