Sarees by Weave
India's textile traditions, and the pieces we have from each
Ajrakh
Ajrakh is a resist block-printing tradition from Kutch in Gujarat and neighbouring Sindh, practised for centuries by Khatri families in villages such as Ajrakhpur and Dhamadka.
Bandhani
Bandhani (from bandhan, to tie) is the tie-dye art of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Artisans pinch tiny points of cloth and bind each with thread before dyeing, so every dot in the pattern was tied by hand.
Batik
Batik is a wax-resist technique: molten wax is drawn or stamped onto cloth, the cloth is dyed, and the waxed areas stay undyed. Repeating the process layers colour upon colour.
Chiffon
Chiffon is a light, sheer fabric woven from tightly twisted yarns, giving it a soft, slightly rough hand and a floating drape. It is made in silk and in synthetic fibres.
Dola Silk
Dola silk is a soft, lightweight silk-blend fabric with a gentle sheen, widely used for printed, embroidered and zari-accented sarees.
Georgette
Georgette is a crinkled, crepe-like fabric woven from highly twisted yarns. It is heavier and more opaque than chiffon but just as flowing.
Kalamkari
Kalamkari means 'pen-work'. The tradition comes from Andhra Pradesh in two styles: Srikalahasti, where motifs are drawn freehand with a bamboo kalam, and Machilipatnam (Pedana), where they are block-printed.
Katan
Katan is a weave built on twisted yarn. In Varanasi, Katan silk (pure silk with twisted filament threads) is the classic base for Banarasi sarees; weaving centres in Bihar work the same idea in cotton and blends.
Khaddi Georgette
Khaddi is the pit loom of Varanasi, and Khaddi georgette is the handloom georgette woven on it: a richer, heavier fabric than machine-made georgette.
Kota Doria
Kota Doria is woven around Kota in Rajasthan. Its signature is the khat, a small square check formed by combining cotton and silk yarns, which makes the fabric almost weightless and airy.
Madhubani
Madhubani (Mithila) art comes from the Mithila region of Bihar, a painting tradition historically made by women on walls and floors for festivals and weddings.
Mangalgiri
Mangalgiri handlooms come from Mangalagiri near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. They are known for fine, crisp cotton with a plain body and a zari border, often the Nizam-style border, with no motifs woven into the body.
Modal Silk
Modal is a soft semi-synthetic fibre made from wood cellulose. Modal silk sarees blend it with silk for a smooth, cool fabric with a subtle sheen.
Mothra
Mothra (also Mothda) is a Rajasthani resist-dyeing pattern related to Leheriya. Cloth is rolled, tied and dyed along two diagonals, so the crossing lines leave small undyed diamonds said to resemble moth (lentil) grains.
Muga Silk
Muga silk comes only from Assam, spun from the cocoons of the Antheraea assamensis silkworm. Its natural golden colour needs no dye, and the silk becomes more lustrous with age.