At Camomile we highly admire and strive to work with hand craftsmen using traditional techniques and skills. For our limited edition collection we have collaborated with Khadi cotton makers from the Kolkata region to produce a series of exquisite blankets and cushions celebrating the beauty of hand made.
Khadi (from the Hindi word Khadar) is a hand woven cloth made from hand spun yarn, in either cotton, silk or wool.
The supple hand feel and slight irregularities, including slubs, are all part of the beautiful characteristics of Khadi cotton, unlike mechanically woven fabrics which are woven with precision making them flat and sometimes lifeless.
The process starts with the spinning of the yarn on a charkha (spinning wheel). Traditionally Women are the spinners and will spin the fibres into a yarn using home made spinning wheels or spindles. Often this work is carried out in between caring for the family, cooking and washing or whenever her hands are free.
Once the yarn is prepared it is passed to the weaver, typically men, who load it on to the wooden looms. The looms take center stage in their homes and life is played out around them and their work. The weaving is painstaking and extremely skilled. The finer the thread and the more intricate the design the higher the skill required. It often takes a whole day to weave only a few meters and when the rainy season starts everything comes to a stand still.
The skill of a weaver is often passed from father to son, with entire villages working together to form the production line. By supporting this ethical craftsmanship we are also supporting the villages and communities surrounding its makers. Encouraging a new generation to keep this precious skill alive and prosper.
Shop our collection of hand embroidered and hand woven limited edition pieces.