Kota Doria Dress Material Light Lilac Gold Rose Vine

This cotton dress material is a two piece unstitched set a light lilac top length with a sheer blue dupatta woven in the translucent khat check of Kaithoon Kota The centre of the top is worked in a gota patti and zardozi vine gold ribbon leaves scrolling around raised blue rose blooms with fine zari stripes and the blue dupatta carries scattered gold buti and a slim zari border Kota Doria is known by its khat the tiny square graph of the weave formed by alternating fine and coarser cotton and traditionally silk yarns Hold the cloth to the light and you should see a clear even grid of transparent squares the yarn looks faintly uneven and slubbed where it was spun and woven by hand and the squares shift by a hair across the width A powerloom or printed imitation shows a flat perfectly regular mesh with no slub and no give The gold work is a second tell true gota patti is gold coated ribbon folded and stitched down by hand so its edges sit slightly raised and the metal catches light unevenly a printed gold lies flat and uniform Kota Doria is a GI tagged handloom woven on pit looms in and around Kaithoon a weaving cluster near Kota in Rajasthan where families have worked this cotton and silk square weave for generations The open weave is what makes the fabric so light and airy a quality prized through the Indian summer Stitched into a kurta with the sheer dupatta this set suits day functions festive lunches and small celebrations Pair with gold jhumkas and juttis the gentle lilac keeps it soft for daytime while the gota work dresses it up after dark