The sale of hand-made traditional cultural dresses, caps, waistcoats and Chugha (long coat) reaches its peak in chilly winter season in Peshawar Chitrali bazaar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These warm cultural dresses are made from sheep wool. This wool is normally called Chitrali Patti.
Local and non-local people swarm the shops in famous Chitrali Bazaar, located close to Qissa Khwani Bazaar, to buy handmade woolen products for protecting themselves from severe cold. During the four-month season that starts from December, Chitrali Bazaar witnesses hustle and bustle of buyers of beautiful Chitrali Patti items.
Chitrali Patti has assumed the status of an industry in Chitral as women besides looking after their houses also wash sheep wool and extract thread from it with hands. After this process the threads are converted into Patti which is used in preparation of Chitrali caps, Chugha, waistcoats and women shawls. The hand-made woolen items of Chitral are famous throughout Pakistan and other countries. Visitors from different parts of the country and abroad take keen interest in purchasing these items.
Sohaib Mukhtiar, a visitor from Multan, said he has come to Chitral to buy Chitrali warm clothes for his family. "We have come here to buy Chitrali caps, Chughas and shawls. The hand-made items of Chitral are of high quality and very good looking as well," he told this scribe. Chitrali Bazaar is the main market for warm clothes in Peshawar. A large number of national and foreign visitors come to this market and take keen interest in shopping.