Kora Grass Mat is woven from the ‘kora’ grass, which is commonly found in South India. This variety of mat is more common in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. A pair of this mat is gifted to a bride by her parents on the wedding day. The mats may contain the name of the bride and groom weaved into them.
For preparing this mat, the grass is split into thin pieces, after removing the pith, and dried. The dry pieces are dyed in the required shade. Generally, vegetable dyes are used. The mat is made by placing the grass segments lengthwise while cotton threads are woven across them. Patterns are created using the appropriate combination of shaded threads and grasses. The designs range from simple stripes to images of animals and birds.
