WEAVER'S WORLD / KANCHIPURAM / TEXTILES

WEAVER'S WORLD / KANCHIPURAM / TEXTILES

Kanchipuram, situated close to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is famous for its Kanchipuram or Kanjeevaram Sarees. These traditional Sarees are of both silk and cotton, but with the Kanchipuram Silk Sari having a special place in the fabric world.

The Kanchipuram Silk Sarees are made of pure silk, with motifs having zari of silk threads dipped in liquid gold and silver. For it to be classified as a Kanjeevaram Sari, Geographical Indication (GI) stricture stipulates that the decorative zari must have at least 57% silver and 0.6% gold in it. Kanchipuram Sarees have GI label for the product since 2005.

The appeal of the Kanjeevaram Silks lies in the elegant broad borders with colours and designs different from that of the body. The pallu or hanging end of the saree, could continue with the same colour and design as that of the border or could differ. If different, it is woven separately and then finely attached to the main saree. Typical motifs are sun, moon, peacock, swan, lion and mango. Themes like jasmine flowers scattered between boundaries, parallel lines running across or temple structures are also popular.

The Kanchipuram Silk Saree has a wide range in pricing, based on the design, motif and materials used.