Warming up to quilts

winter need

There are few things as cosy as a lasingphee for snuggling under on a winter night. Laisingphee is a cotton quilt that is special to Assam, Tripura and Manipur.

The word phee or phi means cloth in Manipuri. Incidentally, the word quilt owes its origin to the Latin word ‘culcita’, which means a padded mattress — something like a Japanese futon.

The quilt is believed to have originated in Siberia sometime during the first century CE. The first known quilt — a quilted linen carpet — was discovered in a Siberian cave tomb around the same time. It is easy to imagine a quilt’s utility in Siberian cold climate as it could provide, in the words of a historian, “warmth without bulk, strength without stiffness, usability in everything from clothing to saddlecloths and was unusual enough to be traded for luxury goods.”

‘Quilting’ is a technique that involves stitching of two or more layers of fabric, often with a padding of some sort between them. In fact, typical quilting is done in three layers — the top fabric layer, the batting or insulating material and the backing fabric. These are stitched together in a decorative pattern while making a quilt. Quilting can be done by hand, using a sewing machine, or by a special long-arm quilting system.

Whether one does it by hand or by a machine, the needle has to pass through all three layers before coming up again. The process is repeated across the entire area to be quilted. A running stitch (called the kantha stitch in Bengal) is commonly used to hold the layers together. Some also use a rocking or straight stitch. Whatever stitch is used can either be purely functional or decorative and elaborate.

Laisingphee, however, is different in one respect. Unlike the usual cotton quilt that is stitched, these are woven on a fly shuttle loom. They are both warm and soft because the quilting material has an inner lining of cotton, stuffed at regular intervals between the parallel strips of weft cloth. In Assam, tender bamboo strips are used for stuffing instead of cotton. The weavers of Cachar are particularly adept at making these quilts.

Manipur is famous for the laisingphee woven on loin-loom, which is a kind of back-strap loom used by the hill people. They first prepare the warp with suitable measurements. One end is usually fastened to the wall or to two fixed poles.

The other end is tied to the waist of the weaver with a cotton or leather belt. Sometimes the belt is made of woven cane or bamboo. It is a technique known to all, and every girl knows how to weave.

In fact, loom forms an important part of her dowry. Not just laisingphee but all things for personal use are usually made by women, while all commercial weaving that includes special laisingphee (for markets) are made by men.

It is interesting to note that in most cases, the colours used in the making of these quilts are obtained from natural sources. The juice of wild indigo is used for preparing a dark blue or black dye. Barks and leaves of different trees on hills and plains are used for creating shades of red, green, yellow and orange. Moirangphi chaddar, another version of laisingphee, often has triangular motifs along the border.

There seems to be an aura of romance around the process of weaving quilts. Each design has a legend behind it, associated with special functions, dances or ceremonies. Ningthou phee has snake motifs and is used by the royalty. According to tradition, whenever a weaver sat down to weave a ningthou phee with a royal emblem earlier, a gun salute would be fired in its honour.

A black woven shawl with bold animal motifs called sami lami phee was given to the brave and distinguished soldiers as a recognition of their competence. Likli or a bottle design resembling a loom often forms the design on laisingphees. They are widely used in Manipur during winter because there is no wool there. The colours used are bold and many of the patterns displayed are geometrical.

If you are keen on making a laisingphee, you could try the quilt stores that sell fabric, thread, patterns and other goods needed for quilting. Other shops, especially in Manipur and Assam, have the provision for hiring out quilting machines, or they take individual orders for quilting according to your personal need. You can find quite a variety in the emporia belonging to northeastern states.

Warm, yet not too warm, it is a perfect cover for a place like Bangalore.