kowdhiworkshop

A two - day workshop ( 28th - 29th March 2026 )

Kowdhi is a traditional hand-quilting technique from Uttara Kannada region, passed down through generations of women. A Kowdhi quilt is traditionally made using seven layers of old, used fabric—often sarees, dupattas, and other scraps—stitched together to form the base. On top of this layered base, colourful fabric scraps are hand-stitched in concentric patterns—starting from the outer edges and moving inward toward the centre—a rhythmical process that gives the quilt both its structure and its vibrant appearance. The process is deeply rooted in storytelling, sustainability, and community rituals.

Kowdhi making becomes a meeting place for women after a long day's labor. It becomes a space for conversation, friendship, appreciating each other, and exchanging skills. Kowdhis are also frozen stories of birth, death, geography, and the landscape of the artisans immediate surroundings. This is what makes the Kowdhi extraordinary.

BuDa folklore is building a learning community among the urban people and bringing awareness of this traditional hand-stitching techniques for the urban participants through workshops.

About the Workshop:

We invite you to something slow, beautiful, and deeply rooted — a two full days traditional Kowdhi making workshop with master artisans from the BuDa Folklore family. You will be guided by master artisans on how to join pieces of cloth — using just needle, thread, and scrap fabric. You will get a chance to listen to the stories of the Kowdhi and the connection between motifs, landscape and cultural memory. One workshop can hold space between 12 to 15 members.

Open to adults of all ages, Gender no Bar.

Workshop is open to a novice or an expert, in quilt making. You will enjoy spending time

with our artisans and making a mini-quilt of your own.

To prepare for the workshop, please bring:

1.⁠ ⁠Soft, old dupatta/sari/muslin (later cut into 12" squares) for the base and inner layers

2.⁠ ⁠Cotton Scrap fabric – vibrant pieces (plain or printed), to be joined together on top of the base 

3.⁠ ⁠Old saree/dupatta border OR 1.5 yards of printed fabric/lace – for a 2" border

4.⁠ ⁠Scissors

5.⁠ ⁠Pins (optional)

We will provide thread and needles.

Please note:

1. You can donate old cotton or cotton-silk sarees, cotton fabrics, or dupattas (damaged or unused). Through the Kowdhi Collective, these textiles are thoughtfully recycled and upcycled into something new.

2. Lunch cost not included.

3. There will be an exhibition and sale from BuDa folklore.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kowdhicollective/

Age 18+