Patola

The Patan Patola is the technically hardest saree woven anywhere in the world. It is a double-ikat, meaning both the warp and the weft threads are resist-dyed individually to a plan before weaving — so the pattern only "emerges" when the two align on the loom. The tradition arrived in Gujarat in the 12th century when the Solanki king Kumarapala invited 700 weaver families from Jalna in the Deccan; only four of those families — the Salvis of Patan — still practise the authentic double-ikat method. Each saree takes four to six months of continuous work by two weavers on a single loom and can cost between two and ten lakh rupees.

Patan (North Gujarat) is the ONLY place where genuine double-ikat Patola is woven, exclusively by the four Salvi families. A single-ikat imitation called Rajkot Patola is woven around Rajkot — the two are commonly confused.