As winter sets in, more and more people are pulling out their colourful cotton quilts to protect them from the chill, and the business of repairing these old handmade quilts, as well as stitching new ones, is thriving once more in the markets of the garrison city.

Although polyester quilts, which are more affordable and lightweight, are now available in the market, many people still prefer their cotton quilts. These colourful and patterned quilts can be seen displayed outside shops from Fawara Chowk to Dingi Kohi, where workers inside are stitching more.

Traditionally, quilts were made and repaired them in the home, but now, shops in the city sell quilts, quilt covers, cotton and other material used to stitch quilts.

In the old days, a quilt maker - called a painja - was invited to the house for a day, during which he cleaned cotton using bamboo sticks and iron wire, and stitched quilts, while the women of the house would stitch quilt covers using old rags.

The current method, although simple, can require up to four workers, and employs several in spite of the arrival of machinery. Locally, most workers still use traditional stitching methods.

A quilt cover is stitched first, with one side left open. Raw cotton is spun, and more than four or five kilograms of cotton is used to fill up the cover. A third worker then settles the cotton inside the quilt cover using bamboo, after which a fourth worker stitches up the quilt completely.

“It is old fashioned,” said Malik Bilal Ashfaq, who owns the Malik Foam Palace in Raja Bazaar. “People want readymade products and they are ready to pay the price.”

Mr Ashfaq said his shop is one of the oldest in town, and was opened by his grandfather over 50 years ago. He explained that most people bought quilts for guests and domestic employees, as well as for dowries. “Most people use other warm bedding for themselves,” he said.

Every so often, he added, customers ask for a worker to be sent to their home where they provide their own cotton from the farm, and only require a worker to settle the cotton and stitch the quilt.

“There are three to four types of cotton used in quilts: desi, which arrives directly from the farms and is expensive; white and soft is considered good quality, while lightly spotted is considered medium quality and the cheaper cotton is the black one, which made from hosiery, carpets and polyester,” he said.

He added that his shop also makes pillows and mattresses, adding: “People also order fancy quilts with various stitching patterns.” He said that a cotton quilt can be used for more than 30 years, but the cotton filling needs to be washed and cleaned every three years.

“Our profession is seasonal; it starts in September and lasts until February. However, work on mattresses and pillows continues all year.”

Mohammad Akram, a customer at Mr Ashfaq’s shop, said: “A traditional quilt is made for a lifetime. Before winter starts, women [of the house] washed the quilt covers and handed them over to the quilt maker, to make the cotton fluffy and re-stitch the quilt.”

He added that cotton products were warmer than polyester ones, saying that people also prefer to call workers to their homes because shopkeepers switched the original cotton with lower quality material.

Another customer, Nasreen Zamir, was at the shop to buy quilts for her domestic employees. “I wanted to get readymade quilts, as they are durable and affordable. We usually use blankets and handmade quilts.”

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2017