Chanderi fabric, gets its name from its place of origin. Chanderi, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, known for beautiful banks of river Betwa, surrounded by hills, lakes and forests. The city’s rich history can still be witness by its beautiful forts and Monuments. Its city museum is a must visit.

The city’s textile industry is as old as its history, It is believed that the art of fabric making in Chanderi was introduce by Shisupal, Cousin of Lord Krishna, Chedi ruler during mahabharat times.

Between 11th-14th century, Chanderi flourished with intense economic activity because of its strategic position in central India. Chanderi became an important centre of the trade route towards Malwa region and Gujrat region. This attracted weavers from many other places to migrate here.

In 1305 AD, group of weavers migrated from Dhaka and settled in chanderi. These weavers brought with them the technique of fine weaving. The Koshti weavers, who came here a few years later from Jhansi, made the fabric more illustrious by introducing different dyeing techniques. The textile industry received royal patronage from the Rajput and Mughal rulers. This soft, glossy and lightweight fabric was not only loved by the royal household, it was given as a gift of honour.

The industry received a setback during the British rule When the weavers were forced to use cheap quality yarn, with less than 200 thread count, that was imported from Manchester, Britain. This greatly eroded the market for the more expensive Chanderi cloth. However, it was revived under the patronage of Scindias of Gwalior during 1910s. It was at this time the silver and golden zari motif was introduced in Chanderi.

In the 1930s, weavers discovered Japanese silk. They began substituting this in the warps in cotton sarees, and also developed a silk-by-silk variety in which their profit margins were higher. As a result, in modern days, pure cotton chanderi sarees are hard to find.

The Chanderi weavers use cotton, silk and zari threads to create three types of fabrics. cotton chanderi, silk chanderi and cotton-silk mixed chanderi. The weaving is very fine with upto 300 counts of thread. The fine count cotton is extracted from special root called Kolikanda. This cotton has a glossy feel. The yarn does not go through de-gumming process, one of a kind approach in weaving. This gives the fabric its translucency and shine.

Fine motifs using zari threads are woven in hand using various needles that lend a completely different level of sophistication to the sarees. The motifs include flowers, birds, coins and geometric patterns.

Chanderi silk sarees have always been popular for their light pastel hues. But modern times have called for brighter combinations of fuchsia, blue, red and black, turquoise. The popular borders on Chanderi garments include the nakshi and adda border. This fabric is one of the most loved fabrics of the fashion designers.Today, a major part of city’s economy depend on it’s textile. Chanderi fabric enjoys the protection under the Geographical Indication of Goods Act,1999.