Handloom saris are a traditional

textile art Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials us ...

of Bangladesh and India. The production of handloom

sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

s are important for economic development in rural India. Completion of a single sari takes two to three days of work. Several regions have their own traditions of handloom saris. The most traditional are made in West Bengal.

The weaving process

A handloom sari is often woven on a shuttle-pit

loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

made from ropes, wooden beams and poles. The shuttle is thrown from Tarsbhullar side-to-side by the weaver. Other weavers use a fly-shuttle loom which can produce different types of patterns. The saris can vary in size and quality. Handloom sari weaving is generally a family enterprise and one of India's

cottage industries The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote w ...

. The handloom saris are made from

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

threads. The handloom weaving process requires several stages in order to produce the final product. Traditionally the processes of

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

(during the yarn, fabric, or garment stage), warping, sizing, attaching the warp, weft winding and

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

were done by weavers and local specialists around weaving villages."weaving"
/ref> However, currently most of the activities are outsourced.

Major regional weaving traditions

Weaving takes place in many regions of India. Each region has tradition designs for the motifs, design and colours. Handloom weaving takes place in villages supporting lakhs of families for their

livelihood A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential t ...

Types of handloom saris

Some of the well-known Indian handloom saris are

Kanchipuram silk sari The Kanchipuram silk sari is a type of silk sari made in the Kanchipuram region in Tamil Nadu, India. These saris are worn as bridal & special occasion saris by most women in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh. It has been recognized ...

s, Maheshwari sari,

Bagh print Bagh print is a traditional Indian handicraft originating in Bagh, Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, India. The process is characterised by hand printed wood block relief prints with naturally sourced pigments and dyes. Bagh print motifs are typ ...

sari, Chanderi silk saris, Tussar silk sari, Banarasi silk sari, Baluchuri saris,

Sambalpuri sari A Sambalpuri sari is a traditional handwoven ''bandha'' (Odisha Ikat, ikat) sari (locally called ''"sambalpuri bandha"'' sadhi or saree) wherein the warp and the weft are tie-dyed before weaving. It is produced in the Sambalpur district, Sambal ...

s, Kantha stitch saris, Bhadhini saris and Munga saris. Some handloom saris are made out of high-quality silk fabric which is valued for its luster.

Baluchari saris

The designs on Baluchuri saris feature

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

stories which can be seen in the temples of Bishnupur & Bankura of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. The pallus and borders showcase elaborate designs of flowers, animals and royal court scenes. Some feature designs of

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

and

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

a scenes narrating the stories. The most popular colours of Balachuri saris are green, red, white and yellow. Kanchipuram silk sareer

A master weaver usually takes 20–25 days to complete weaving of a Baluchuri sari.

Kanchipuram saris

The quality of

zari ''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make in ...

used in weaving kanchipuram saris in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

is superior and attracts foreign visitors. The zaris used are generally

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

Tussar saris

Tussar sari are soft to touch and are woven in areas of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

and Bhalgalpur. The bright colour combinations and the breathable nature of the

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

make it unique.

Banarasi saris

Banarasi saris have been a valuable possession for

brides A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, brides ...

. Woven by master craftsmanship of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, they feature intricately woven designs with golden and silver threads. These saris are usually heavy and can be worn in

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

as well as at weddings. Banaras weavers from handloom looms Bharatsthali

Impact on the economy and weavers' cooperatives

The handloom sector plays a vital role in the country's economy and as a result evens the government are implementing several measures to optimize all the resources available. The handloom sector is the second largest economic activity after agriculture which involves nearly 30 lakh weavers. It contributes nearly 22% of cloth produced in the country. The handloom industry belongs to the pre-independence period and the new economic policy in India is implemented to thrust this industry. The Textile Policy 1985 emphasised the promotion of handloom. According to the Handloom Census of 2009–2010, this sector provides employment to 4.33 million people. In the 2010 census, 4.4 million families were engaged in hand weaving. In December 2011, the handloom industry wove 6.9 billion square metres of cloth.

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

is said to be the home of 359,212 weaver families who work in primary cooperative handloom societies. Primary Handloom Weavers Cooperatives (PHWCS)"PHWCS"
/ref> includes weavers within certain specific geographical limits and provides production work to the members. The cooperatives also see that the weavers receive fare wages and conduct various welfare measures.

References

External links

Central Silk Board
{{Bengali clothing Textile arts of India Handloom sarees Textile arts of Bangladesh