Repairing small portions of fabric together to create a larger piece, stitching layers of material together to create a single quilt has been found in olden times. Karnataka has a rich tradition of art and culture. In this region are different communities seen conquering the art of costume designing. The people of Karnataka are very creative in developing fabrics using minimal raw materials. Kaudi a quilt is another distinctive material made in Anegundi of Karnataka. For their families the women folk makes quilt with sarees and leftovers of cloth to stitch the Kaudi. It is one of the glorious tradition of recycling and reusing. The Kaudi quilts are being exported to European and many other countries. “Quilting” is the method of stitching different layers of cloth together to create a thicker fabric material. Quilting the procedure of crafting a quilt where the layers are joined along with patching, designing and knitting. Colorful scraps of cloth, creatively sewn into attractive geometric patterns creating quilts of different varieties which exports to different regions boasting its rare beauty and stories of cultural diversity. A skilled Artisan who involves in quilting is named as a quilter. Quilting can either be done by hand or in machine. The word “quilt” originates from a Latin culcita denotation a stuffed sack. The cloth pieces use for the Kaudi are generally cut from used clothes or unstitched materials. All these pieces are stitched together to make the Kaudi, that gives warmness with their aesthetic beauty which have lent a special touch to these quilts. The women of this region, connects well when they gather together to stitch the Kaudis. It offers them a great opportunity to share village talks and forget their problems while weaving magic on the hand stitched Kaudis. Quilting, which demands a great deal of expertise and involves straight lines in symmetric fashion, requires an understanding the ratios and proportions. The women of Anegundi, are able to achieve this only by constant practice which led them to create new patterns of stitching for both Western and Indian culture. They lay a great deal of emphasis on measurements and color schemes which they learnt by their own experiences. The quilts of Anegundi are in great demand as the end products are completely amazing. Quilting can be elaborately decorative, including stitched fashion into intricate designs and patterns, geometric grids, motifs traced from wooden templates or patterns which are repeated in forming the designs known as tessellations. The quilter may highlight these designs by using multicolored threads that are highly contrasting to the fabric used. The quilter uses invisible nylon or polyester thread that matches the quilt top to make the stitch invisible. Some quilters prefers to stitch freehand, while others draws the intended design on the quilt top before sewing.
