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Writer's pictureAyushi Verma

The Chanderi Weaving Process

Updated: Apr 8, 2022




Chanderi has always been among Indian women's favorite. It stays in the hearts of Indian ladies since the queens and princesses era. The reason behind this is its fine texture and climate-friendly quality. The weaving process is exclusive and has been practiced among Indian weavers for generations. The specialty lies in the fine-textured fabric of silk and cotton followed by zari woven work, and motifs. The saree gains its love, particularly because it was adored by royal ladies.

Do you know it has its origin from Vedic Period. Stories suggest that it was founded by Shishupal, lord Krishna'scousin.

The Chanderi products are of three types-

  1. Pure Silk

  2. Chanderi Cotton

  3. Silk Cotton

The motifs have come from traditional coins, geometric prints, peacocks, etc. The sarees are hand-woven and interspersed with the delicacy of extra weft motifs.

Chanderi Production Stages:

  1. Procurement of Raw Material

The raw material is purchased by yarn dealers who get the silk from Karnataka. Usually, silk yarn is imported from China and Korea. The cotton yarn is procured from Coimbatore and Jaipur.

2. Dyeing

The dying process takes about 1 hour and is performed by local dyers who have the skill. The yarn is loosened afterward and turned into round reels.

3. Warping

For this, the yarn is wound on pirns. This is done with the help of Charkha and the activity is performed by skilled weavers. The process is specialized and the ones who perform this are called warpers. The warp yarns are arranged across wooden frames called reels. The yarns then pass through a reed. A warper in its full potential can warp 4 to5 sarees.

4.Passing the Warp through Reed

The warping is followed by joining the threads with a deft twist of hands. The process takes 3 to 4 days.

5. The pallav Design

The Designing of pallu or pallav takes place even before weaving. The ends are tied to a harness called "Jaala" The process takes place 3- days depending upon the complexity of the design.


CHANDERI WEAVING

The process of Chanderi weaving has the following steps:

1. Designing of fiber:- There are two types of designs in the case of Chanderi weaving.

First is the main design for the sari itself. It includes the border, the kind of motifs to be used, color combinations, etc. This is usually provided by the ordering provider.

2. Dyeing

Dyeing is done by skilled technicians. It is an important part of the whole process. both silk and Cotton require Dying before weaving begins in looms.

It is done in the following steps,

Step-1

Dissolving readymade fast colour dye in warm water.

Step-2

Dipping of threads in this solution.

Step-3

Washing the dyed threads in plain water.

Step-4

Immersing the threads in a solution of warm water, detergent and soda.

Step-5

Hanging the washed threads on bamboo poles to dry


Once dried, they are sent to weavers for further processing.


The Final Word

The Chanderi Sarees are luxurious, warm, breathable, and light-weighted. The fabric is loved by Indian women and worn all over the country. popular Fashion designers and Bollywood celebrities have also expressed their love for this fabric.


Please visit www.bharatkarigar.com for an amazing collection of Chanderi Sarees.




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