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.
The state of Madhya Pradesh produces some of the finest handloom sarees that are manufactured in Chanderi and Maheshwari. While Chanderi has been a weaving centre since as early as 10th century, weaving of Maheshwari sarees started in the 18th century.
Maheshwari sarees are manufactured in Maheshwar, an ancient town famous for its numerous temples built on the banks of river Narmada. Maheshwar is associated for famous Holkar Dynasty, most particularly Queen Rani Ahilya Bai, who ruled the state during 18th century.
Tant sarees are traditional cotton sarees that are manufactured in West Bengal and Bangladesh. The looms in Bengal are called “Tant”, hence the sarees woven here came to be Known as Tant saree. The sarees made using cotton threads are light-weight, transparent and very comfortable to wear .
A Tant saree is characterized by design on a broad border, with a decorated aanchal(pallav). The body of the saree has small running Buties or Stripes that add to its beauty. With an intricate design, weavers can take upto a week to complete one saree.
The textile tradition of Bengal is very ancient. It is known for it’s finest fabric produced in either pure cotton or pure silk, but not in mixed yarn.
A traditional baluchari saree is hand-woven with chosen yarn (originally silk, now cotton is also accepted, but not mixed), using motifs and designs depicting scenes from mythology. They are manufactured in Bishnupur, a village in West Bengal.
The saree got it’s name, Baluchari, because the weavers originally came from a village called Baluchar, near Murshidabad.
Kota-Doria, simply known as Kota Sarees, are very fine handloom that is woven with cotton and silk threads. The fabric is woven in a manner that the final material is light-weight and translucent, which makes it ideal for the warm and dry climate of Rajasthan. The weaving technique creates a one of a kind square pattern, known as “Khat”. A Marwari lady’s wardrobe is incomplete without kota doria.
Doria, meaning thread in native language, is manufactured primarily in Kaithoon, a small village about 15km from Kota. The weaving tradition began here in the 18th centaury. Rao Kishore Singh, then prince of Kota, is credited for creating this industry.
Sambalpuri sarees are traditional hand woven sarees from the state of Odisha. These are made using Ikkat or Bandhana technique. These are a form of tie-dye, a technique where the yarn is dyed in a sequential manner to get the desired pattern while weaving.
Baandha is unique form of layered dyeing, patterns formed are reflective, i.e patterns are identical on both side of fabric. Once the dye is set, It can never be bleached into other colours.