Jaipur is known for its lightweight, warm and durable quilts. Quilt making is a long process and completed after many stages of processing. The process starts with the bales of cotton that are brought by the quilt maker from cotton dealers; which is then carded into a fluffy mass with all dross and waste products removed. The art of carding can change the quality of quilt produced. The quality does not lie on the type of cotton but the amount and quality of carding that is done on bales. A one 1 kilogram of cotton is carded into 100 grams after a full week of carding. The lightest of quilts do not weigh more than 50 grams.
The origin of the Jaipur quilt goes back 250 years when the ruler Sawai Jai Singh II brought many quilt makers, mansuris from around and near Amber city to Jaipur and settled them down there.
Jaipuri razai are meant for everyday use as blanket, duvets and also bed covers. They are made of very fine cotton fabric known as mulmul that are filled with fluffed up cotton wool. The little air pockets inside the quilt trap air which becomes warm and protects the body from cold. The Jaipuri razai are not just famous for its utilitarian existence but the beautiful block printing patterns on the cover.
Production clusters are centered around Japiur’s Topkhana ka rasta and Chandpole bazaar. Products such as razai(quilts), gadda(quilted cushions) and quilted bedsheets are created under this craft-form. Tools such as rulers, cardboard cutouts for floral motifs, stick used for separating the separated cotton fibres, beating tool, and needles are employed for the process.
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