Hindu Culture - Stitching and Design - 2

Hindu Culture  - Stitching and Design 

 

Silk in the Indian subcontinent

Silk in the Indian subcontinent is a luxury good. In India, about 97% of the raw silk is produced in the five Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir.  The North Bangalore regions of Muddenahalli and Kanivenarayanapura, the upcoming sites of a $20 million "Silk City" and Mysore contribute to a majority of silk production. Another emerging silk producer is Tamil Nadu where mulberry cultivation is concentrated in Coimbatore, Erode and Dharmapuri districts. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu were the first locations to have automated silk reeling units

 

Silk is a natural protein fibre, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fibre of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known type of 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 fibre, which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus producing different colors.
Silks are produced by several other insects, but generally only the silk of moth caterpillars has been used for textile manufacturing. There has been some research into other silks, which differ at the molecular level. Many silks are mainly produced by the larvae of insects undergoing complete metamorphosis, but some adult insects such as webspinners produce silk, and some insects such as raspy crickets produce silk throughout their lives. Silk production also occurs in Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), silverfish, mayflies, thrips, leafhoppers, beetles, lacewings, fleas, flies and midges.  Other types of arthropod produce silk, most notably various arachnids such as spiders (see spider silk).

Wild silk

A variety of wild silks, produced by caterpillars other than the mulberry silkworm, have been known and used in China, South Asia, and Europe since ancient times. However, the scale of production was always far smaller than that of cultivated silks. There are several reasons for this: firstly, they differ from the domesticated varieties in colour and texture and are therefore less uniform; secondly, cocoons gathered in the wild have usually had the pupa emerge from them before being discovered so the silk thread that makes up the cocoon has been torn into shorter lengths; and thirdly, many wild cocoons are covered in a mineral layer that stymies attempts to reel from them long strands of silk.  Thus previously the only way to obtain silk suitable for spinning into textiles in areas where commercial silks are not cultivated is by tedious and labor intensive carding.
Commercial silks originate from reared silkworm pupae which are bred to produce a white colored silk thread with no mineral on the surface. The pupae are killed by either dipping them in boiling water before the adult moths emerge or by piercing them with a needle. These factors all contribute to the ability of the whole cocoon to be unravelled as one continuous thread, permitting a much stronger cloth to be woven from the silk. Wild silks also tend to be more difficult to dye than silk from the cultivated silkworm.  A technique known as demineralizing allows the mineral layer around the cocoon to be removed,  leaving only variability in color as a barrier from creating a commercial silk industry based on wild silks in parts of the world where wild silkmoths thrive, such as Africa and South America.

India

Silk, known as "Paat" in Eastern India, Pattu in southern parts of India and Resham in North India has a long history in India. Recent archaeological discoveries in Harappa and Chanhu-daro suggest that sericulture, employing wild silk threads from native silkworm species, existed in South Asia during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization, roughly contemporaneous with the earliest known silk use in China. According to an article in Nature by Philip Ball, while there are various evidences for silk production in China back to around 2570 BC, newly discovered silk objects from the Indus valley in eastern Pakistan are believed to date from between 2450 BC and 2000 BC, "making them similarly ancient".  Shelagh Vainker, a silk expert at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, sees evidence for silk production in China "significantly earlier" than 2500–2000 BC, however suggests "people of the Indus civilization either harvested silkworm cocoons or traded with people who did, and that they knew a considerable amount about silk."  India is the second largest producer of silk in the world after China. About 97% of the raw silk comes from five Indian states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.  North Bangalore regions of Muddenahalli and Kanivenarayanapura, the upcoming site of a $20 million "Silk City" Ramanagara and Mysore contribute to a majority of silk production in Karnataka. In Tamil Nadu, mulberry cultivation is concentrated in Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur, Salem and Dharmapuri districts. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu were the first locations to have automated silk reeling units in India

India is also the largest consumer of silk in the world. The tradition of wearing silk sarees for marriages and other auspicious ceremonies is a custom in southern parts of India. Silk is considered as a symbol of royalty and historically, silk was used majorly by the upper classes. Silk garments and sarees produced in Kanchipuram, Pochampally, Dharmavaram, Mysore, Arani in the south, Banaras in the north, Murshidabad in the east are well recognized. In the northeastern state of Assam, three different types of silk are produced, collectively called Assam silk: Muga, Eri and Pat silk. Muga, the golden silk, and Eri are produced by silkworms that are native only to Assam.

History

The Silk Route

In an article titled "Rethinking Silk’s Origin"  in Nature, an extraordinary finding of the extensive use of silk in the Indus valley civilization as early as 2450-2000 BCE was reported. The Indus silks were obtained from more than one species Antheraea and Philosamia (Eri silk). Antheraea assamensis and A. mylitta were widely used. It is widely believed that silk process techniques of degumming and reeling were purely Chinese technology. In the paper published in Archeometry journal,  scientists from Harvard University examined the silk fibre excavated from two Indus valley cities of Harappa and Chanhudaro. The fibers were dated to around 2450–2000 BCE and were processed using similar techniques of degumming and reeling as that of the Chinese. Scanning electron micrograph of the fibre revealed that some fibers were spun after the silk month was allowed to escape from the cocoon, similar to the Ahimsa silk promoted by Mahatma Gandhi.
The Sassanids, realizing the trade potential in silk, became intermediaries for the Chinese silk trade. Sassanids were mainly responsible for the export of silk from the East to the West. Silk both woven and raw was traded to Mediterranean countries via Parthia and Syria, from where it made its way to Europe. Silk fabrics, influenced by Chinese prototypes, were also woven in the Sassanian weaving centers of Khurasan, Kashan and other places. Soon these silk brocades became known for their beauty and were exported to other countries. Sassasian polychrome silk became very famous during this time. These were the most sought-after gifts, presented to Emperors by envoys and traders. Khurasan was renowned for this fabric. These later would also influence Indian silk brocades.
Sericulture was taken outside China in the second century A.D. According to legend, it was smuggled out by a Chinese princess who was married to a prince of Khotan in Central Asia. She hid the silk cocoons in her coiffure and took them to her adopted country. The introduction of sericulture made Khotan prosperous. Over the centuries, silk weaving also became popular in other areas as well, particularly in Persia, and in the region around Syr Darya and Oxus rivers. Khotan, Bulkh, Kashgar, Bukhara, Khurasan, Kashan, Damascus and Gujarat in India became the known centers. Persia especially was a dominant center early on and Persian weavers were in great demand. Damascus became particularly famous for making such highly coveted patterned satin fabrics known as "Damask satin". Later Timur, the central Asian conqueror, deported the weavers of the damask cloth from Damascus to Samarkand and Bukhara.
One such group of Persian Zoroastrians migrated from Southern Persia (Faristan) to Saurashtra in Gujarat and are called Parsis in India. The weavers among them must have introduced to this region the Sassanian motifs and techniques popular in their own country. Since they came from the area around the Persian Gulf, known for its high quality pearls, their beautiful embroided borders use real pearls. The influence of these Gujarati fabrics greatly affected the rest of the Indian brocade industry as far as technique and design were concerned – migrating Gujarati weavers were responsible for setting up many new weaving centers and re-enforcing existing ones.

Silk goes to India

The brocade weaving centers of India developed in and around the capitals of kingdoms or holy cities because of the demand for expensive fabrics by the royal families and temples. Rich merchants of the trading ports or centers also contributed to the development of these fabrics. Besides trading in the finished product, they advanced money to the weavers to buy the costly raw materials that is silk and zari. The ancient centers were situated mainly in Gujarat, Malwa and South India. In the North, Delhi, Lahore, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Veranasi, Mau, Azamgarh and Murshidabad were the main centers for brocade weaving. Northern weavers were greatly influenced by the brocade weaving regions of eastern and southern Persia, Turkey, Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Gujrati builders and weavers were brought by Akbar to the royal workshops in AD 1572. Akbar took an active role in overseeing the royal textile workshops, established at Lahore, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri where skilled weavers from different backgrounds worked. Expert weavers from those distant lands worked with the local weavers and imparted their skills to the locals. This intermingling of creative techniques brought about a great transformation in the textile weaving industry. The exquisite latifa (beautiful) buti was the outcome of the fusion of Persian and Indian designs. Brocades produced at the royal workshops of other well-known Muslim centers in Syria, Egypt, Turkey and Persia were also exported to India. Under the Mughals, sericulture and silk-weaving received special encouragement and silk cloth produced in the Punjab came to be prized throughout the world. Lahore and Multan developed into major centers of silk industry. The tradition continues.
See also: Assam silk, Tussar Silk

Types of silk cloth

Silk brocades

Silk brocades, texturally, are divided mainly into two groups:

• Kinkhwab
• Pot-thans

Kinkhwab (Brocade)

Kinkhwab was originally an elegant, heavy silk fabric with a floral or figured pattern known most for its butis and jals woven with silk as the warp and tilla as the weft, produced in China and Japan. Tilla in the earlier times was known as kasab. It was a combination of silver and tamba (copper) which was coated with a veneer of gold and silver. Kinkhwabs have also been known as ‘Kimkhabs’, ‘Kamkhwabs’, ‘Kincobs’, ‘Zar-baft’ (Gold Woven), zartari, zarkashi, mushaiar.
Kam means little or scarcely. Khwab means a dream and it’s said that even with such a name ‘Its beauty, splendor and elegance can be hardly dreamt of’. Kinkhwabs are heavy fabrics or several layers of warp threads with an elaborate all-over pattern of extra weft, which may be of silk, gold and / or silver threads or combinations. There may be three to seven layers of warp threads. (Tipara means three layers and Chaupara means four layers to Satpara meaning seven layers). Kin means golden in Chinese. Its specialty is in profusely using the gold and silver thread in a manner that sometimes leaves the silk background hardly visible.
When the figure work is in silver threads with a background of gold threads it is called ‘Tashi Kinkhwab’. This is a variety of ‘Kinkhwab’ which has a ground worked with an extra warp of gold [badla (flat wire) zari] and the pattern created with an extra weft of silver badla zari or vice versa. A satin weave is very often used, resulting in a smooth ground for the fabric. The heavy fabric appears to be in layers, as the warp ends are crammed drawing three, four and up to seven ends per dent for the Tipara, Chaupara up to Satpara respectively.
Zari is generally of two types Badla and Kala batto. Badla Zari was made of flattened gold or silver wire with the ancient method of making zari from pure metal without any core thread. This accounted for its peculiar stiffness. Sometimes cracks would develop in the metal during the process of weaving which resulted in the loss of its natural luster and smoothness. Therefore weaving with Badla Zari was difficult and required great skill. Often a touch of Badla was given to floral motives to enhance the beauty. This type of zari has mostly gone out of favor amongst the contemporary weavers and they mostly depend on polyester or pure silk as a substitute.
Silk brocade of Banaras, Ahmedabad and Surat were well known in the seventeenth century. While Banaras continues to be a center of production of Silk Brocades, Ahmedabad and Surat have practically nothing to show today. On the other hand, Silk Brocade weaving has gained ground in the South of India.

Pot-thans

These are called Katan (a thread prepared by twisting a different number of silk filaments) brocades. Pot-thans are lighter in textures (lower thread count) than Kinkhwabs but closely woven in silk and all or certain portions of the pattern are in gold or silver zaris. These fabrics are mostly used for making expensive garments and saris. Very often the satin ground weave is particularly used for garments fabrics. These fabrics are characterized by their jals which are normally made out of silk and tilla.

Mashru

The cloth was distinguished by its butis woven in circular shapes that gave an impression of ashrafis (gold coins). The ashrafis were usually woven in gold zari.
This is a mixed fabric with a woven stripe or zigzag pattern. The warp and weft used were of two different materials (silk and cotton, cotton and linen, silk and wool or wool and cotton) in different colors. It was used mostly for lower garments such as trousers, the lining of the heavy brocade garments or as furnishing.
Gul Badan (the literal meaning of which is ‘flower like body’) was a known variety of mushru (cotton and silk) popular in the late 19th century. Sangi, Ganta, Ilaycha were types of mushru too. These were popular since ancient times and were known to be woven at all leading silk centers. One reason for their popularity was Islam. Since Islam does not allow men to wear pure silk, mashru (literally meaning permitted) became very popular amongst Muslims.

Himru or Amru

A type of Indian brocade is the Himru, a specialty of Hyderabad and Aurangabad, which is woven from silk and zari on silk to produce variegated designs, woven on the principle of extra weft. Himru can be very pretty with a pseudo-rich effect in general. It continued to be in popular demand on the account of its low price as compared to the pure silk brocades. Another point in its favor is that it can be woven very fine so as to give it a soft feel, thus making it more suitable as a fabric for personal wear than the true brocade.
The cloth is distinguished by its intricate char-khana (four squares) jal. These are woven like kinkhwabs, but without the use of kala battu (zari) instead badla zari is used.

Kinkhwabs

Kinkhwabs fabrics of India have earned a great reputation for their craftsmanship and grandeur. By and large, still continue to do so, even in the face of fierce competition from other types of woven and printed fabrics.
Kinkhwabs today are typically ornate, jacquard-woven fabrics. The pattern is usually emphasized by contrasting surfaces and colours and appears on the face of the fabric, which is distinguished easily from the back. Uses include apparel, draperies, upholstery and other decorative purposes.

Gyasar

Gyasar is a silk fabric of a Kinkhwab structure with ground, in which the gold thread is profusely used with Tibetan designs. The fabric is especially popular with Tibetans and used extensively in their dresses as well as in decorative hangings, prayer mats, etc.

Gyanta

Gyanta is a silk fabric of Kinkhwab structure of a satin body with or without the use of gold thread. These sometimes have a tantric design (which is also known as Tchingo) of human heads with three eyes woven in gold and silver threads on a black satin ground.

Jamawar

"Jama" means robe and "war" is yard. The base of the jamawar is mostly resham, with perhaps an addition of a little polyester. The brocaded parts are woven in similar threads of silk and polyester. Most of the designs seen today are floral, with the kairy (i.e. the paisley) as the predominant motif.
Today, the best jamavar is woven in Pakistan. This fabric is widely used in that country for bridal and special occasion outfits. The texture and weave of patterns is such that the fabric often gets caught when rubbed against rough surfaces (metallic embroidery, jewellery etc.) it must therefore be handled delicately when worn.

Origin

Traders introduced this Chinese silk cloth to India, mainly from Samarkand and Bukhara and it gained immense popularity among the royalty and the aristocracy. King and nobles bought the woven fabric by the yard, wearing it as a gown or using it as a wrap or shawl. Jamawar weaving centres in India developed in the holy cities and the trade centres. The most well known jamawar weaving centres were in Assam, Gujrat, Malwa and South India.
Due to its rich and fine raw materials, the rich and powerful merchants used jamawar and noblemen of the time, who could not only afford it but could even commission the weavers to make the fabric for them, as in the case of the Mughals. Emperor Akbar was one of its greatest patrons. He brought many weavers from East Turkestan to Kashmir.
One of the main reasons for the diversity in the designs of the jamawar cloth was the migratory nature of its weavers. Ideas from almost all parts of the world influenced these designs.
The Indian motifs were greatly influenced by nature like the sun, moon, stars, rivers, trees, flowers, birds etc. The figural and geometrical motifs such as trees, lotus flower, bulls, horses, lions, elephants, peacocks, swans, eagles, the sun, stars, diagonal or zigzag lines, squares, round shapes, etc. can be traced through the entire history of jamawar and are still being used but in a rather different form in terms of intricacy and compositions, thus creating new patterns.
Indian weaver predominantly used a wide variety of classical motifs such as the swan (hamsa), the Lotus (kamala), The Tree Of Life (kulpa, vriksha), the Vase of Plenty (purna, kumbha), the Elephant (hathi), the Lion (simha), flowing floral creepers (lata patra), Peacocks (mayur) and many more. Mythical creatures such as winged lions, centaurs, griffins, decorative of ferocious animals, animals formally in profile or with turned heads, animals with human figures in combat or represented in roundels were also commonly used motifs. These motifs have remained in existence for more than two thousand years. However, new patterns have consistently been introduced; sometimes some of these are even an amalgamation of the existing patterns. Such attempts at evolving new designs were particularly noticeable from the 10th century onwards, when patterns were altered to meet the specific demands of the Muslim rulers.
The bull or the swan, arranged between vertical and diagonal stripes can still be found in the silk jamawar saris of India. Patterns with small flowers and two-coloured squares (chess board design) are seen, used both as a garment and as furnishing material – bed spreads with same kind of pattern are still woven in some parts of Gujarat.
Jamawar dating back to the Mughal era however contained big, bold and realistic patterns, which were rather simple with ample space between the motifs. The designs stood out prominently against the background of the cloth.
Complex patterns were developed only when additional decorative elements were included in the basic pattern. During later periods, the gap between the motives was also filled with smaller motives or geometrical forms. The iris and narcissus flowers became the most celebrated motifs of this era and were combined with tulips, poppies, primulas, roses and lilies. A lot of figurative motives were also used in the Mughal era such as deers, horses, butterflies, peacocks and insects. The Mughal kings played a vital role in the enhancement of jamawar by putting their inspirations into the cloth’s designing and visiting the weavers on a regular basis to supervise its making. Shining, decorative pallus were jals were the main designs of this time. The borders were usually woven with silk and zari.
After the Mughal period, the figurative motifs were discouraged by the Muslims and more floral and paisleys were introduced. However, inspiration was taken from these figurative motives and put into designs as in the case of using only the peacock feathers instead of the complete figure.
Another big change was brought about in 1985, where the source of inspiration was the Chinese Shanghai cloth. The patterns of the Chinese Shanghai were amended in accordance to the weave construction of the jamawar cloth and introduced in the cloth. This proved to be a very successful change and is still appreciated by many.
In recent years, the Indian government has attempted a modest revival of this art by setting up a shawl-weaving centre at Kanihama in Kashmir. Efforts to revive this art have also been made by bringing in innovations like the creation of jamawar saris by craftsmen in Varanasi. Each sari is a shimmering tapestry of intricate design, in colours that range from the traditionally deep, rich shades to delicate pastels. A minimum of four months of patient effort goes into the creation of each jamawar sari. Many of the jamawar saris now have matching silk shawls attached to them, creating elegant ensembles fit for royalty.

Weaving of Jamawar in Pakistan

Pakistan makes its own yarn from the imported cocoons that come from China. The yarn is cultivated in areas like Orangi town and Shershah which is then sold to the weavers. The pure silk yarn, before it can be used, has to undergo treatment such as bleaching or washing (in soap) and then dyeing. In its raw state, the silk is hard due to the sericlan; therefore it has to be removed. A single filament of the silk yarn is not strong enough to be woven on its own; therefore, it needs to be twisted in order to give it strength and hold.
A specific person who is called a naqsha-bandh first draws the patterns or designs on paper which are then transferred on a graph paper on a comparatively much bigger scale. Every square in the graph signifies a specific number of threads on the loom. The unfinished, rough ideas and sketches are provided to these naqsha-bandhs by the wholesalers and are thus plotted on the graph. The use of various threads in the pattern such as zari, resham, polyester, etc. are separated on the graph with the help of colours indicated on a key chart. The wholesalers later decide the main colours and this information are forwarded to the weavers. The naqsha-bandhs do not have say in the designing of the motifs and patterns. They do what they are told to do.^{[citation needed]}
In this way, the pattern or motif is drawn on the graph paper to provide the weaver with the exact picture of each thread making up the design in the process of weaving. The designs and patterns are then transferred from the graph paper on a wooden frame and are referred to as the naqsha. The naqsha that is made with cotton threads is a smaller sample of the actual design, which is to be woven on the loom. The warp is then taken for the weaving process, which is carried out, on various looms such as the pit loom, jacquard loom and power loom. There is a vast difference between the outputs of the three types of looms. The power looms cannot match the intricacy that can be achieved using the pit or jacquard loom. This is the reason for the far superior workmanship that can be found in the earlier designs dating back to the Mughal era.
Nowadays brocade is being produced on the power looms for its wide-scale production for the market. Several kannis or little wooden shuttles of different colors are used for a single weft line of the fabric. Up to 50 colours could be worked into one shawl made of the jamawar cloth. The most popular colours being zard, sufed, mushki, ferozi, ingari, uda gulnar and kirmiz.
This thread can also be twisted with gold threads in order to make zari. The zari fibre is doubled with the yarn to prepare ite. The zari fibre is wrapped on reels and is doubled with the yarn with the help of a machine, on cones. These fibres are then wrapped on reels with the help of a doubling machine. The threads are then steamed and wrapped on the final spools. The required threads (silk, zari, etc.) are then taken to the charkha, which is a machine used to make the warp for the weaving process.

Significant regions of silk

Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram is located very close to Chennai, the capital of Tamilnadu. From the past Kanchipuram silk sarees stand out from others due to its 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 large number of people, both from India and abroad, who come specifically to buy the silk sarees. Most of the sarees are still hand woven by workers in the weaving unit. More than 5000 families still indulge in silk weaving.
In 2008, noted director, Priyadarshan, made Tamil film, Kanchivaram, about silk weavers' of the town, during the pre-independence period, which won the Best Film Award at the annual National Film Awards.

Banarasi

Main article: Banarasi

Assam silk

Main article: 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.

Origin

Banaras (Varanasi) is situated on the Calcutta / Delhi rail route 760 km (470 mi) from Calcutta. It has always been a big textile center of silk weaving. European travelers like Marco Polo (1271–1295) and Tavernier (1665) do not mention the manufacture of Brocades in Banaras. Ralph Fitch (1583–91) describes Banaras as a thriving sector of the cotton textile industry. The earliest mention of the brocade and Zari textiles of Banaras is found in the 19th century. With the migration of silk weavers from Gujarat during the famine of 1603, it is likely that silk brocade weaving started in Banaras in the seventeenth century and developed in excellence during the 18th and 19th century.

Distinguishing characteristics

The following are considered to be the main characteristics of the brocade fabrics of Banaras.

1. Heavy gold work.
2. Compact weaving
3. Figures have small details.
4. Metallic visual effects.
5. Pallus
6. Jal (A net like pattern)
7. Mina work.

Banarasi brocade produced two sub-variants from its original structure namely:

• Katan
• Tanchoi

Katan

Katan, 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.
Katan can be further classified into the following:

1. Katan Butidar: Fabric with Katan warp and weft with butis (designs and patterns) in gold or resham (untwisted silk).
2. Katan Butidar Mina: Katan Butidar with Mina work (design made out of zari thread) in butis.
3. Katan Butidar Paga Saree: Saree with Katan warp, resham weft, small butis all over body, closely spaced (about 10 cm (4") apart), about 5 cm (2") wide border and 30–55 cm (12-22") wide pallu.
4. Katan Brocade: This is a fabric with Katan Warp and Katan weft with figures in gold thread with or without mina, with the traditional styles being ‘katrawan’, ‘kardhwan’ and ‘Fekva’.
1. Katrawan: A technique or design in which the floating portions of the extra weft (laid from selvege to selvege) at the back of the fabric is cut.
2. Kardhwan:
3. Fekva
5. Jangla: Plain fabric of Katan warp and Katan weft, with all-over floral designs in an extra weft of either silk or zari.
6. Katan Katrawan Mina: A fabric in Katrawan style with Mina.

These days the currently used designs and motifs involving Katan are:

• Katan Jal Set: Over the years with minor innovations and influences from other materials, Jangla is now known as ‘Katan Jal Set’.
• Katan Buti Zari Resham: Katan Butidar has evolved over time to become Katan Buti Zari Resham.
• Katan Stripe and Katan Check are also popular variants found in the markets.

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 body weft.

1. Satan Jari Tanchoi: Satan Tanchoi with weft in the order of one silk and one gold thread (Jari), or two silk (double) and one gold thread.
2. Satan Jari Katrawan Tanchoi: Satan Jari tanchoi in which the floating, extra weft, gold thread at the back is cut and removed.
3. Atlas: Atlas is a pure satin body. Relative to other fabrics, Atlas is thicker, heavier and is shinier than other fabrics because of the extra use of zari. It is also known as gilt, because it is even shinier than the katan.
4. Mushabbar: The cloth is distinguished by its jal woven as bushes and branches of trees. The normal association with the design was that of a jungle.

Karachi

Contemporary designs and motifs

The effect achieved after the cloth is woven resembles that of embroidery. Therefore, the jamawar weaving technique is often defined as ‘embroidery weaving’ or ‘loom embroidery’. This technique can also be applied on other fibres but jamawar is generally restricted to rich silk threads. Currently, any of the major textile fibres may be used in a wide range of quality and price.
Currently, two kinds of Kinkhwab (Jamawar) are available in the markets. Mughal Jamawar and Self Jamawar. Mughal Jamawar has a distinct characteristic of the use of gold and silver zari with silk, the use of gold zari with silver zari and the use of zari with polyester. Self Jamawar does not involve zari and basically is either silk on silk or silk with polyester.
Currently, the motifs and patterns of jamawar have evolved tremendously from the old times. The big size and the bold motifs that are the remnant of the past civilizations are missing in today’s jamawar designs. The currently used motifs and patterns (floral, paisleys, butis, etc.) display greater intricacy as compared to the boldness observed in previous times. Even the compositions have changed as less space between the motifs is observed compared to the past designs. According to the wholesalers for the local market, the removal of figurative motifs diminishes all risks in its sales. However, even though old jamawar motifs have changed, the concept of incorporating gold and silver threads in the construction of the jamawar cloth can still be seen, though on a smaller scale.
In order to maintain harmony and correlation between motifs, certain geometrical patterns are common. The most common of them being chevron, checks, straight or diagonal lines, mothra (a double line containing a simple or running pattern inside) and so forth. The natural forms are woven in a highly decorative and stylize manner. After assimilating the essence of a pattern, the designer implements their own interpretation of it. Thus, a leaf can evolve into a flower or a bird form. Decorative motifs like the leaf, flower, fruits, creeper, etc. are used to maintain the symmetry of the pattern.
The market for pure silk has also gotten limited due to ever increasing prices of the raw materials, thus primarily only designers use pure silk in their work (importing cocoons from China and then weaving the cloth). Modern Power looms have replaced much of the hand-made craftsmanship of the weavers and while they can easily satisfy the demands of the times, the quality that jamawar was once famous for is not the same anymore because of this mass production method.
The quality of jamawar has decreased due to the modern pressures of cost benefits and mass production. Pure silk is no longer a feasible option for most weavers, who now employ a mix thread of silk combined with other mixed yarns including silk and wool, silk and cotton, silk and viscose. In areas even where these weavers still employ pure silk, they are making only razor thin profits and thus most have discontinued the work by not training new workers and letting the family owned businesses die out, as offspring choose alternative professions to follow. The reason for the low profits of weavers has to do with the supply chain. Makers of Jamawar have to keep their costs low to sell to the majority of the consumers who cannot afford the cloth at higher prices. This means that the weaver suffers most, since they come last in the supply chain and cannot afford to be out of work and plus cannot dictate the price at which they will weave the cloth due to the almost monopoly of the few fixed designers cum wholesalers who dictate the market.
The design aspect has also suffered in modern times. As compared to the traditional designs dating back hundreds of years, when religion, culture, area, stories etc. had profound influence on the weavers and lead to symbols and verses being woven into the fabrics themselves e.g. the Persian Ashrafi design, the Hindu Ramnami dupattas, Muslim kalima and ayahs, the Indian symbols of the Vase of Plenty for fullness, Tree of Life as the wish fulfilling tree, a Lotus for purity and perfection, Elephant symbolizing influence, Lion denoting power, etc., modern day designs woven in Karachi no longer have an identity of their own.
Most of the modern day designs are restricted to flowers and paisleys and replicated endlessly. They also have not experimented or taken risks with other patterns or designs and that is why there has been no innovation in this industry for many years.
However it is interesting to note here that the graduates of the art schools have been found experimenting and producing new forms of woven textiles. This trend has resulted in the production of various design houses like Khaadi,NoorJehan Bilgerami, Gultex etc. The awareness for the revival of hand woven silk and Jamawar is ascending, thus beniting the craft school and resulting in the manufacture of some new experimental contemporary fabrics.

Present day

The most common and popular fabrics remains the banarasi, jamawar, pot-thans, atlas and katans. These are the fabrics that a person can usually find in our local markets and have a high level of demand. However the other materials like tanchoi, mushabbar, himru / amru, mushru, etc. have been relegated to selective niches in the market. Most people even after coming across these fabrics usually refer to them directly as jamawar due to the absence of such materials in popular use and lack of awareness in general of the availability of these fabrics.

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

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