Village culture in India has always valued tradition and nature, and sustainability is deeply woven into the way of life.

Like many upcycling and reuse traditions across India, Khowdi hand-quilting is a utilitarian craft traditionally practiced by women in north Karnataka, who transform old fabrics into family quilts.

Hand-quilted Khowdis were unique in how they brought women together. What began as a utilitarian practice rooted in women's daily lives evolved into a medium of creative self-expression.

Traditionally, during the summer months, women gather to hand-stitch layered quilts in preparation for winter. After tending to their daily chores, they repurpose and transform old saris into base fabrics, carefully layering and embroidering fabric scraps to create vivid tapestries of colour and pattern. The embroidery is never pre-drawn — it's guided by instinct, memory, and conversation — a shared yet deeply individual expression. Sometimes two or more base fabrics are joined together by a hand-stitch, depending on the quilt’s size.

Each piece takes three to four months to complete, a quiet testament to the remarkable time, care, and artistry poured in every stitch.

DESIGN LANGUAGE

When we began working with women practicing Khowdi hand-quilting, we were struck by how their work combines the deep intuition of a traditional craft with an almost algorithmic precision—patterns and unwritten rules guiding each step of their process.

What is even more remarkable is the versatility of their process—whether the quilt is square or rectangular, the design logic remains consistent. The motifs form a visual language that appears in individual sections and merges into a unified whole.

Traditionally the khowdi of north Karnataka was used only for bedding, both as a cover and as a mattress. The craft bears a resemblance to the saami quilts from the southern region of Sindh. However, since the history of khowdis remains undocumented, establishing a definitive connection between these traditions is challenging. This similarity is particularly evident in the right-angled embroidered shapes that begin at the corners and extend toward the center — in a pattern called mooli [moole], meaning nook or corner in Kannada. This pattern is done with an embroidery called hakki kaalu (bird’s feet), with a combination of backstitch.

In some places, especially in the Bidar district of north Karnataka, the unified centre embroidery becomes an elaborate grid called a *mani [mané]* (house), and the motif that takes shape is called huva [huuvu] (flower).

Local design variants

  • Mooli

    "Mooli", which means a corner [moole] in Kannada, is the most important part of the khowdi. The diagonal lines from all four corners of the khowdi meeting in the centre constitute the mooli.

  • Betal mooli

    "Betal" means a partition in the hair, hair path. This mooli variant is comparatively smaller in width.

  • Hanigi mooli

    Hanigi in north Karnataka dialect means a comb. It starts like any other mooli which is about 2 inches, but after every line the size of the next mooli decreases to form a squarish variation of the pattern.

While there are variations of the main mooli pattern practiced across districts, the design language remains consistent across.

With time, women began incorporating patterns and motifs from their surroundings and lived experiences. From a way to preserve her family’s material memories to a deeply personal and expressive craft, the craft has evolved with each woman and her creative individuality as a whole.

Through each piece and stitch, women balance proportions and create designs with an organic flow, creating pieces that are both functional and beautiful while honouring their heritage. This demonstrates how understanding doesn't require formal documentation—it can emerge organically through practice, experimentation, and tacit knowledge passed down through generations, and perfected over time.