Add some vintage pop to your table setting! These cotton quilted sari napkins are lovingly adorned with kantha embroidery by women artisans
- One-of-a-Kind Fabric: Made from two layers of vintage cotton sari fabric, —no two napkins are the same!
- Size: 16"x16" sold in sets of four. Each set contains napkins with a variety of colors and patterns
- Reversible: Get eight napkins - each napkin is reversible.
- Artful Stitching: Adorned with beautiful kantha embroidery by low-income women in West Bengal, a centuries-old technique involving delicate, hand-stitched running stitches that add both texture and durability.
- Empowering Women: Supports women artisans in West Bengal, providing them with a crucial source of income and enhancing their livelihoods.
- Who made these napkins? Made by 3 women, Sagarika, Sumitra and Majeda (pics included). The common thread in their origin sotires is that they have used kantha embroidery as an income-generating activity to help support their families. Each napkin reflects the empowerment journey of the women who created them. All are supported by a Fair Trade Organization from whom I sourced these napkins.
- Care: Machine washable in cold water (I recommend a delicate cycle)
Irregularies in the stitching are a reminder the napkins are handmade and each is unique.
Upcycled cotton sari "kantha" napkins - Assorted Set of four napkins - 4
These napkins are created by three women who have overcome signficant odds to own their own embroidery units.
The common thread in their origin sotires is that they have used kantha embroidery as an income-generating activity to help support their families. They scout for saris in nearby villages and organize local women in collectives to come together between household chores to create these kantha quilted napkins.
Each napkin reflects the empowerment journey of the women who created them.
All three women are supported by a Fair Trade Certirifed organization based in Kolkata.
The organization was created to address issues related to marginalization of craftspeople. Artisans - especially women - were exploited by middlemen, and the craft they parcticed was losing its identity. The mission of this Fair Trade organization is to strengthen, support and expand market opportunities for artisans.
They work with nearly 100 groups of disadvantaged women and marginalized artisans from North-East Indian and other states.
Kantha is a tradition of hand embroidering patchwork cloth from rags. Over time it evolved from a simple running stitch into a rich & varied embroidery language, depicting motifs influenced by religion, culture & the rural lives of the women stitching them. Deeply rooted in Bengal & with a history of over 3,000 years, kantha is rich in story & meaning.
Whether it be a plain stitch on patched rags, or highly illustrative embroidery on the finest silk, this humble art form is created today as it has been for centuries: in small, unassuming village homes by women who spend days, weeks & even months on one piece.
Each piece is unique - you will never see the same combination of fabrics and threads twice. Any variations or irregularities are to be celebrated. They are part of the design & inherent to the handcrafted production process, making this item beautifully unique.
Material: 100% Upcycled cotton with cotton embroidery
Care: Machine wash in cold water. I recommend a delicate cycle. Drip dry in shade
Origin: West Bengal, India
