Silk Sarees And Kinds of Silk Sarees

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 cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity (sericulture). The shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism-like structure of the silk fiber, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus producing different colors.

Silk is produced by several insects; but, generally, only the silk of moth caterpillars has been used for textile manufacturing. There has been some research into other types of silk, which differ at the molecular level. Silk in the Indian subcontinent is a luxury good. In India, about 97% of the raw mulberry silk is produced in the Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Mysore and North Bangalore contribute to a majority of silk production. Another emerging silk producer in Tamil Nadu where mulberry cultivation is concentrated in Salem, Erode, and Dharmapuri districts. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, and Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu were the first locations to have automated silk reeling units.

Assam Silk

Assam silk denotes the three major types of indigenous wild silks produced in Assam - golden Muga, white pat, and warm Eri silk. The Assam silk industry, now centered in Sualkuchi, is a labor-intensive industry.

Muga silk

Muga silk is a variety of wild silk geographically tagged to the state of Assam in India. The silk is known for its extreme durability and has a natural yellowish-golden tint with a shimmering, glossy texture.

White Pat silk

Eri silk

Eri silk is a staple fiber, unlike other silks, which are a continuous filament. It was introduced in Thailand in the 1970s from South Asia. The texture of the fabric is coarse, fine, and dense. It is strong, durable, and elastic. Eri silk is darker and heavier than other silks and blends well with wool and cotton. Due to its thermal properties, it is warm in winter and cool in summer.

Mysore Silk Saree

Karnataka produces 9,000 metric tons of mulberry silk of a total of 20,000 metric tons of mulberry silk produced in the country, thus contributing to nearly 45% of the country's total mulberry silk. If you are not a lover of heavy designer type, then you need to choose Mysore silks sarees. Since the saree zari contains 65% pure silver and 0.65% of gold, it is also one of the most expensive silk saree in India.

Kanchipuram Silk Saree

Kanchipuram is located very close to Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. From the past Kanchipuram silk sarees stand out from others due to their intricate weaving patterns and the quality of the silk itself. Kanchipuram silk sarees are large and heavy owing to the zari work on the saree. Kanchipuram attracts a large number of people, both from India and abroad, who come specifically to buy the silk sarees. Most of the sarees are still handwoven by workers in the weaving unit.

Banarasi Silk Saree

A Banarasi silk saree is a saree made in Varanasi, a city which is also called Benares or Banaras. The sarees are among the finest sarees in India and are known for their gold and silver brocade or zari, fine silk, and opulent embroidery. The sarees are made of finely woven silk and are decorated with intricate design, and, because of these engravings, are relatively heavy.

Katan Silk

Katan is a thread, prepared by twisting a different number of silk filaments according to requirement gives a firm structure to the background fabric. Katan is a plain-woven fabric with pure silk threads. It consists of two threads twisted together and is mostly used for the warp of light fabrics.

Tanchoi

Plain woven body with one color extra weft, one color weft, and one color warp. Relative to the jamawar, it is lighter and softer. Tanchoi could be further classified into the following: Satan Tanchoi is the satin weave (four ends and eight picks or five ends and five picks satin) with the warp in one color and the weft in one or more colors. The extra weft in the design may also be used as a body weft.

Kandangi Silk Saree

Kandangi is a type of saree made from silk threads in the Tamil Nadu state of India. Traditionally, Chettinad and Koorainad are two types of Kandangi sarees native to Tamil Nadu. Kandangi Saree received the Geographical Indicator tag on 30 August 2019.

Karachi Jamawar Silk

The jamawar weaving technique is often defined as "embroidery weaving" or "loom embroidery". This technique can also be applied to other fibers but jamawar is generally restricted to rich silk threads. Currently, any of the major textile fibers may be used in a wide range of quality and price.

Ilkal saree

Ilkal sari is a traditional form of sari which is common feminine wear in India. Ilkal sari takes its name from the town of Ilkal in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka state, India. Ilkal saris are woven using cotton warp on the body and art silk warp for border and art silk warp for pallu portion of the sari. In some cases instead of art silk, pure silk is also used.

Tussar Silk Saree

Tussar silk alternatively spelled as tassar, and also known as (Sanskrit) Kosa silk is produced from larvae of several species of silkworms. India is the second-largest producer of tussar silk, and the exclusive producer of Indian tussar (also known as tropical tussar), which is largely tended to by tribals. Much of it is produced in Bhagalpur (where it is called Bhagalpur silk), Bihar, and the Malda district of West Bengal. Tussar silk is also used for Odisha's pattachitra and West Bengal's Kantha stitches.

Bhagalpur Silk Saree

The tussar silk-weaving industry in Bhagalpur, more than a century old, has about 30,000 handloom weavers working on some 25,000 handlooms.

Venpattu Saree

Salem Silk known as Salem Venpattu refers to silk clothes made in Salem, Tamil Nadu. It received Intellectual Property Rights Protection or Geographical Indication (GI). The handloom industry is one of the most ancient cottage industries in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu, India. More than 75,000 handlooms are working.

Kondalampatti Sarees

Kondalampatti is a small census town in the district and it is famous for its silk handloom products. Kondalampatti handlooms are well known for the durability of the colours used in the yarn. The mixture of colours gives durability. The count of the threads in a square inch used in weaving gives the softness and hardness of the fabric. In Kondalampatti sarees 60 to 65 threads are used in a square inch in the warp. The width of the saree comes to 51 inches. Every thread of the Kondalampatti handloom saree is handwoven. It requires approximately 4-8 days of effort to weaving a saree.

Elampillai Sarees

Elampillai is a small town near Salem, Tamil Nadu. It is known for textiles like silk sarees and other allied works like Jacquard punching and saree designing. Elampillai's economy depends mainly on the textile industry. Every thread of the Elampillai handloom sari is handwoven. In Elampillai, a weaver weaves around 4 sarees in a week.

Pochampally sarees

Pochampally sari or Pochampally Ikat is a saree made in Bhoodan Pochampally, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana State, India. They have traditional geometric patterns in the Ikat style of dyeing. The intricate geometric designs find their way into sarees and dress materials. The Indian government's official airplane company, Air India, has its cabin crew wear specially designed Pochampally silk sarees. The weaving survives in a few villages like Pochampally, Koyalgudam, Choutuppala, Siripuram, Bhuvanagiri, Puttapaka, and Gattuppala, and few villages around them. The fabric is cotton, silk, and sico - a mix of silk and cotton. Increasingly, the colours themselves are from natural sources and their blends.

Sambalpuri sarees

A Sambalpuri sari is a traditional handwoven ikat or sari (locally called sadhi) wherein the warp and the weft are tie-dyed before weaving. It is produced in the Sambalpur, Balangir, Bargarh, Boudh, and Sonepur districts of Odisha, India. The Sambalpuri sari is made from fabric woven on a hand-loom and is popular throughout India.

Patola Sarees

Patola is a double ikat woven sari, usually made from silk, made in Patan, Gujarat, India. The word patola is the plural form; the singular is patolu. To create a patola sari, both the warp and weft threads are wrapped to resist the dye according to the desired pattern of the final woven fabric. This tying is repeated for each colour that is to be included in the finished cloth.

Baluchari Silk Sarees

Baluchari Sari is a type of sari, a garment worn by women in West Bengal and Bangladesh. This particular type of sari originated in West Bengal and is known for depictions of mythological scenes on the pallu of the sari. It used to be produced in Murshidabad but presently Bishnupur and its surrounding areas of West Bengal are the only places where authentic Baluchari saris are produced. It takes approximately one week to produce one such sari. These saris were mostly worn by women from upper class and Zamindar households in Bengal during festive occasions and weddings.

Swarnachuri Silk Sarees

Swarnachari (baluchari in gold), also called Swarnachuri: They are the most gorgeous balucharis, woven with gold (Swarna) or silver coloured threads (often with meenakari work in another colour) that illuminate the patterns to a much larger extent.

Konrad sarees

The Konrad saree of South India is majorly woven in eastern Tamil Nadu, in Salem, Arni Madras, Kumbakonam, and Thanjavur. Although, Arni was considered to be one of the major centers for these sarees in the 19th century. Konrad sarees are one of the most well-known sarees. These have originated from Tamil Nadu and have earned a great reputation on account of their traditional affluence and usage of excellent fabrics. These sarees have borders embellished with varied designs. It is among the most intricately designed hand-woven sarees from the region. Also known as Temple sarees, and Mubbhagam sarees, a handwoven Konrad saree is expensive. The Kumbakonam and Thanjavur areas of South India do create heavy to medium-weight Konrad silks that are quite similar in style as well as technique to Kanchipuram Silk Sarees. The designs do include motifs like elephants, peacocks, double-headed eagles, and floral vines. Although Konrad's saree depicts the creation of pure silk its distinctive appearances set it apart from other sarees.

Chanderi Silk Sarees

Chanderi sarees come from Madhya Pradesh and are known for being lightweight and very comfortable. The patterns imprinted on these sarees are usually taken from the Chanderi temples. The Chanderi sari tradition began in the 13th century. In the beginning, the weavers were Muslims. Around 1350, Koshti weavers from Jhansi migrated to Chanderi and settled there. During the Mughal period, the textile business of Chanderi reached its peak. Chanderi saris are produced from three kinds of fabric: pure silk, Chanderi cotton, and silk cotton. Traditional coin, floral art, peacocks, and modern geometric designs are woven into different Chanderi patterns. The saris are among the finest in India and are known for their gold and silver brocade or zari, fine silk, and opulent embroidery.

Paithani Silk Saree

Another form of silk sarees coming from the western part of India is the Paithani sarees. They are famous for their natural patterns such as trees, and birds like parrots and peacocks. The standard colors are magenta, blue, purple, and green. Present-day Yeola town in Nashik, Maharashtra is the largest manufacturer of Paithani. Paithani is characterized by borders of an oblique square design, and a pallu with a Peacock design. Plain as well as spotted designs are available. Among other varieties, single-coloured and kaleidoscope-colored designs are also popular. The kaleidoscopic effect is achieved by using one color for weaving lengthwise and another for weaving width-wise. There are three types of silk threads used: Charkha: This is widely used. It is cheap, dull, and uneven. Ciddle-Gatta: Fine quality silk, thin sheer, shiny, smooth, and even. China silk: Very expensive to use. Paithani saris are silks in which there are no extra weft-forming figures. The figuring weave was obtained by a plain tapestry technique.

Bandhani Silk Saree

Bandhani silk sarees come from Gujarat. These are woven using a special type of dyeing technique. Traditionally, Jaipur is known to produce the largest number of these sarees. Bandhani is a type of tie-dye textile decorated by plucking the cloth with the fingernails into many tiny bindings that form a figurative design.

Crepe Silk Saree

Crape is a fabric that's characterized by a pebbly surface. The texture is the result of twisted yarn and the threads can be of any type. In crape silk, the threads are usually of raw silk, twisted and tied together to produce the unique crape texture. Crape silk is usually lightweight.

Thai Silk

Thai Silk is produced from the cocoons of Thai silkworms. Thailand's silkworm farmers cultivate both types of domesticated silkworms that produce commercial silk: Samia ricini, commonly known as the Eri silkworm, which produces matte eri silk, and the Bombyx mori, producer of the better known, glossy mulberry silk.

Mulberry silk

The production of Thai silk begins with the Bombyx mori, a small silkworm that comes from the eggs of a silk moth. For their first year, these worms feast on the leaves of mulberry trees before building a cocoon with their spittle.

Uppada Silk

Originated in a small beach town of Uppada, Andhra Pradesh this silk is known to be achieved by the age-old Jamdani weaving technique. The artisans also use a lot of zari work in the exquisite designs of Uppada Silk sarees. Uppada Silk Fabric is used for bridal wear, evening wear, lingerie, blouses, linings, Salwar kameez, and Kurtis. Silk cloth can be decorated using embroidery and embellishments. Uppada pattu sarees are easily one of the more expensive sarees that you can buy.

Bishnupuri Silk

Bishnupur, a town in the Bankura district of West Bengal is known for its rich silk sarees, that have a soft, smooth texture and drape beautifully. These light-weight, pure silk sarees come in a variety of colours with traditional as well as quirky designs and motifs. Silk weaving in Bishnupur goes back to several hundred years. It is known to have flourished in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Murshidabad Silk

Murshidabad is famous for its cowdial saris made of fine mulberry silk with flat, deep- red or maroon borders made with three shuttles. The borders are laced with a fine serrated design in gold zari. Murshidabad silks are also popular for hand-printed designs and other materials which are also printed with wooden blocks. The Silk River scrolls are made from 100% high-quality, hand-woven, silk from Murshidabad. Murshidabad is famous for its cowdial saris made of fine mulberry silk with flat, deep- red or maroon borders made with three shuttles. Murshidabad silks are also popular for hand-printed designs and other materials which are also printed with wooden blocks. Calcutta and Serampore in the Hooghly district are the main textile hand-printing centers in West Bengal.
Reference
Wikipedia