PROCESS:


For making Patolu, imported silk cloth prepared from pupae of silkworm is being used. Commonly this silk from chine, Japan, Koria and Brazil are used. Warp and weft is made from silk thread and colored with tie and die process. Coloring process takes approximately 2 to 21/z months.The clothes from China, Korea and Brazil are very even which reflects in high quality of Patolu. Raw silk threads are thinner than hair and hence eight such threads are woven together and bleached. Twisting is done to make it strong. The threads thus made are weaved on handloom. Horizontal threads are called VANA (warp) and vertical ones are called TANA (weft).
For preparing sari, design is made on graph paper, then on certain threads (Tana and Vana), which are kept open, the rest are tied by cotton thread. The Tana and Vana thus tied are dipped in colour so that only open threads take up the colour. Now the coloured threads are tied and another colour is to be applied to open threads after immersing in another colour. Thus depending upon the number of colours, tieing and colouring are made. Cotton threads are loosended after all required colours appear on both sides of Tana and Vana. The process of colouring the threads takes nearly 75 days


Weaving Work :


In making palan's two persons can weave only 8 to 10 inch of cloth hardly. Because after waving adjustment and finishing work is required to be done. It consumes much time. Seeing such difficult labour and skill required 4 to 5 months time for 4 to 5 craftsmen to weave a sari. Preparing patola, skilled labour , precision, calculation and patience, hard work is almost importance
After colouring work is completed, weaving begins. In general only one man works on the handloom, but for Patola two men are required. Two men can weave hardly 10 inch of cloth in one day. After weaving adjustment and finishing work is required to be done. For weaving one sari, 25 days' time is consumed. Total time required for making one sari is about 3-4 months with help of 3 craftmen.
For preparing Patola, skilled labour, Precision, calculation and patience are utmost importance. Once a small mistake is done in colouring of Tana-Vana, it may not match on the design. Because of hard difficult labour and unique skill involved in preparing patola, few craftmen have shifted to other business and today only 2-3 families are engaged in this craft.