ATTOCK, Nov 9: As the winter has set in, the sale of traditional handmade cotton quilts is on rise in different parts of Attock.  

Like the blankets, woolen bed sheets and others warm bedding commodities, people prefer to purchase new cotton quilts or get old ones repaired, keeping quilt manufacturers busy.

People of urban areas also buy machine stitched polyester quilts for being light in weight.

Mohammad Naeem, a local handmade quilts manufacturer, admitted that people of urban areas preferred polyester and foam quilts but handmade cotton quilts were still popular.

He said the sale of quilts started two months before the winter season and remained continue till its end.

There are quilts of different weight and colours, he said. “Normally we use 4kg cotton in each quilt but some people demand quilts of five to six kg,” he said.

“We charge Rs180 per kg, thus a 4kg quilt (without cloth cover) costs Rs720, as mostly buyer provides them cover of his\her choice,”  he maintained.

Replying to a question, he said that 10 to 15 quilts were being sold on daily basis, bringing handsome profit of Rs1,500 to Rs2,250 on daily basis. Besides, they also repair old quilts and charge Rs150 for cotton spinning and then stitching, he said.

A woman admitted that in harsh winter such handmade cotton quilts were not only more warm than the blankets and readymade polyester or foam quilts but their rates were affordable.