Throw Blankets Made From Vintage Saris

We are smitten with these delicate blankets, made by women in Calcutta who are paid fairly and work from home, according to designer Jeanette Farrier. They are handstitched using five layers of vintage saris and three contrasting color threads...

Each piece is reversible and can also be worn as shawl! You can't claim that for most of your housewares - home adornment and clothing adornment. These blankets, which are considered traditional Kantha art, measure 69" x 32" and are available from Circa Trade for $360. To learn more about designer Jeanette Farrier and her mission, click here.

Comments (9)

L O V E !

posted by dewi on October 27th 2009 at 2:25pm
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Exquisitely beautiful -- both the product and the mission.

posted by mirandabee on October 27th 2009 at 2:28pm
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these are amazing. stunning.

posted by jaime5 on October 27th 2009 at 2:46pm
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These are beautiful!

posted by GreenJessicaA on October 27th 2009 at 3:24pm
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These are known as rallie or rally or ralli quilts and are traditional in West Bengal - which, these days, is Calcutta and Bangladesh. Depending upon the region, they can be patchwork or just stitched.

It is sort of like the NPR program on "recycling" Halloween costumes. I thought that was called "hand me downs."

posted by Taureg on October 27th 2009 at 9:35pm
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A lovely store just a few blocks away from me (Baltimore) has a handful of these in stock. After much debate about buying yet another textile (Yes, I have a problem!), I went ahead and purchased my vintage sari throw/quilt/blanket/coverlet for just around $150. The owners, who I know and love, told me they were selling in other places for much, much more. Wowser's - they weren't lying! So glad I purchased it... I just love it.

And Kyle, you beat me to it. I was going to write a post about these :)

Kimber AT: DC

posted by KimberM on October 28th 2009 at 7:26pm
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They are called Kantha in india- both the finishes quilt and the stitch. the sarees are not vintage, they're old sarees. this is one of the many ways we recycle textiles in india.

kantha stitching also produces gorgeous, new, silk sarees, for example: http://www.iwishtohaveit.com/kantha_silk_saree.htm

posted by Cactina on October 29th 2009 at 5:52am
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Can't help but wonder how much of that $360 those women in Calcutta are getting...

posted by txbelle on October 31st 2009 at 7:31pm
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txbelle, I'm also very much questioning the $360 price tag of these. As a Bengali who has some of these blankets and who's bought them in Kolkata (and not in some sweatshop), I can tell you that they cost NOWHERE near this amount. And saying that they're made from "vintage" saris is really funny...they're made from torn or overly worn saris that are too bad a shape to wear. Not that this makes them any less beautiful...it's recycling at its best!

posted by swindienne on November 1st 2009 at 2:44am
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