Kullu Stole

Background:

Kullu is the capital town of the Kullu District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about ten kilometres north of the airport at Bhuntar. This valley is famous for its temples, beauty and its majestic hills covered with pine and deodar forest and sprawling apple orchards and hand woven textiles especially stole, shawl, muffler and tweed. The design is inspired from the engraving on wall of temples and Buddhist monasteries.

Material used:

The material used for their weaving is pure wool of count 2/56 -2/60 Nm in warp and weft. For designing, pure wool is used in extra weft. Bright colors are used generally to give an attractive look.

Technique applied:

Kullu stole is woven by Jamdani/Tapestry technique of weaving, in which one pick is of ground and other pick is used as extra weft for design purpose. The extra weft used is of bright colors to give it an attractive look. In this technique, each warp is controlled separately and interlaced with weft by the use of pirn. In this technique the design is first developed on graph paper and then it is translated on loom.

How to distinguish genuine Kullu stole

• Kullu stole is famous for its intricate multi-color geometrical pattern.
• Bright colors are used for design purpose woven by extra weft technique.
• The Pallav of the stole generally have heavy border and small pattern all over the surface.
• The design inspiration is always taken from the engraving of temples and Buddhist monasteries.
• The designs on these stoles carry special religious significance and colours used in patterning carry mythological background.