Asia has been known throughout history as a place that produced beautiful textiles. The art of producing cotton fabric was first perfected by the ancient South Asians as well as the processes of dying and printing fabric. The Romans even sent traders to ancient India to get fine fabrics for their togas.
Every rilli quilt has a story. Each quilt illustrates the strength of tradition. Every rilli tells of natural creativity and love of color and design by the women who create them. Rilli are the cultural bedspreads and quilts handmade by ladies from the rural areas of Sindh.
The females carefully form patterns and signs from fabric, some simple and some complicated. The women making the quilts depend on their own memories and the memories of their older ladies and mothers to teach them the patterns. They do not utilize paper or any tools to make their patterns. There could be a large variety of styles and patterns of rillis even in a remote village or community. The ladies have a great "mental portfolio" of quilt patterns they have created, known or have seen. They mostly elaborate then historically as "old patterns" or "new patterns". The age of rilli is very difficult to determine. While the regular wear, a quilt could indicate signs of wear in merely few years. Although if the rilli is kept and stored in the family stacks for use by the honorable guests, then it could last for generations.
The designs of geometry in the blocks of carved stones are very similar to the quilt blocks. Some lines in the stone look to some like the stitching lines. Although, going back farther than this are obvious similarities between the designs of rillis and historic painted pottery of the region. Some of the styles that are shared by pottery and rillis are simple involving lines, checkerboards and triangles; still others are complex patterns utilizing the shapes and style elements together. Scholars claims that pottery with painted motifs seemed to have been replaced in the 1st millennium BC by simple, unadorned pottery still the ancient designs sustain to be reflected in rilli and embroidery designs today. Even though the historic records are scarce, we know that quilting is an ancient tradition in the area. Could the females have passed on the conventional culture styles from mother to daughter for many years and at some point utilized them in quilts? There is a good instance in the place where a historic tradition survives today. In the historic graves from the period of painted pottery, females were buried wearing the white bangles. Ladies in the similar rural areas today still likes to wears various white bangles. Perhaps the historic motifs have existed in their quilts as the culture of bangle jewelry has been survived on their arms.
The designs of geometry in the blocks of carved stones are very similar to the quilt blocks. Some lines in the stone look to some like the stitching lines. Although, going back farther than this are obvious similarities between the designs of rillis and historic painted pottery of the region. Some of the styles that are shared by pottery and rillis are simple involving lines, checkerboards and triangles; still others are complex patterns utilizing the shapes and style elements together. Scholars claims that pottery with painted motifs seemed to have been replaced in the 1st millennium BC by simple, unadorned pottery still the ancient designs sustain to be reflected in rilli and embroidery designs today. Even though the historic records are scarce, we know that quilting is an ancient tradition in the area. Could the females have passed on the conventional culture styles from mother to daughter for many years and at some point utilized them in quilts? There is a good instance in the place where a historic tradition survives today. In the historic graves from the period of painted pottery, females were buried wearing the white bangles. Ladies in the similar rural areas today still likes to wears various white bangles. Perhaps the historic motifs have existed in their quilts as the culture of bangle jewelry has been survived on their arms.
The number of patterns used on rilli quilts seems to be almost endless, as there is much individual expression and spontaneity in color within the traditional patterns. The three basic styles of rillis are:
1. Patchwork made from pieces of cloth torn into squares and triangles and then stitched together.
2. Applique made from intricate cut out patterns in a variety of shapes.
3. Embroidered quilts where the embroidery stitches form patterns on solid colored fabric.
A distinguishing feature of rilli patterning in patchwork and applique quilts is the diagonal placement of similar blocks as well as a variety of embellishments including mirrors, tassels, shells and embroidery.
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