Kota Doria Dress Material White Floral Jaal

This cotton dress material is a two piece unstitched set a white top length with a matching dupatta woven in the sheer khat check of Kaithoon Kota The top is worked in a white on white floral jaal of resham embroidery while the dupatta adds the same tonal jaal scattered with small multicolour floral sprigs for a touch of colour against the translucent ground 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 embroidery is a second cue resham thread work sits slightly proud of the surface and you can trace the stitch path on the reverse whereas a printed embroidery stays flat and mirrors through to the back 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 Tailored into a kurta with the matching dupatta this white set is a versatile day to evening choice the tonal embroidery keeps it understated while the colourful sprigs add quiet interest Pair with oxidised silver or pearls and neutral footwear