The Saree Atlas
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The Saree Atlas · A story in pictures

How a Saree Is Made

From Silk to Saree

Before a silk saree reaches a shop it passes through many hands: cocoon to thread, thread to colour, colour to loom, and loom to six yards of cloth. Follow the journey in pictures.

A weaver seated at a wooden handloom, ivory cloth emerging in front of him and the long warp threads stretching back behind the reed.
At the loom, prepared silk becomes cloth, one crossing thread at a time.

Chapter I: Silk becomes thread

A silk saree begins with thousands of cocoons, and a great deal of patient work before the loom.

Hands choosing ivory silk cocoons from a wide bamboo tray heaped with them.
01CocoonsA mulberry silkworm produces liquid silk inside its body. As the silk emerges, it forms a long, fine thread that the silkworm winds around itself to make its cocoon. The cocoons are sorted by hand before reeling.
A woman drawing fine filaments from cocoons floating in a basin of hot water towards a wooden reel.
02ReelingIn hot water the natural gum that holds each cocoon together softens. The reeler finds the loose end of each cocoon’s thread, gathers several of these fine filaments into one strand and winds it onto a reel.A skein of smooth, pale reeled silk.Reeled silk: long, smooth, continuous filaments.
A woman guiding pale silk yarn from a spool to a spindle on a twisting machine.
03TwistingA reeled strand is too fine for the loom on its own. Twisting it, and twisting strands together, makes a yarn with strength and character: Katan is one such twisted silk yarn.
A dyer in gloves lifting a loop of wet red silk yarn on wooden poles above a dye vessel.
04DyeingFirst the silk is washed free of most of its natural gum, which brings out its lustre. Then the hanks are lifted and turned through the dye bath so that the colour takes evenly.
Hanks of red, teal, yellow and purple silk yarn hanging from a bamboo pole in a sunlit courtyard.
05DryingDyed hanks dry in the open air. Body, border and pallu may each need a colour of their own.

Chapter II: Preparing the loom

Weaving needs two sets of threads. The lengthwise set, the warp, is prepared first, and with great care: its threads run the length of the cloth, so they are measured and laid out before weaving can begin.

A woman brushing a pale starch along stretched red warp threads, a bowl of it in her other hand.
06SizingA light starch, brushed along the stretched threads, gives the warp extra strength and smoothness for the thousands of passes of the shuttle to come.
A long bed of red warp threads stretched the length of a veranda, bamboo rods keeping them in order while a woman works at one end.
07Laying the warpThe warp is laid out at full length, long enough for one saree or several, with rods keeping every thread in its place and order.
Hands guiding a red warp thread through the eye of a heddle with a fine metal hook, the reed beside it.
08ThreadingEach warp thread, or end, is drawn through the eye of a heddle and then through the reed. A silk saree’s warp holds thousands of them, each in its planned place.
Hands turning a small winder to fill a pirn with red yarn; a wooden boat shuttle and another full pirn lie on the bench.
09Winding the weftThe crossing thread, the weft, is wound onto a small pirn that sits inside the boat-shaped shuttle, ready to be carried across the warp.

How cloth holds together

Warp and weft

Every woven cloth is two sets of threads at right angles. The warp runs the length of the saree, held tight on the loom; the weft crosses it, over one thread and under the next, then turns at the edge and comes back.

Weaves and fabrics in Fabrics & Silks

Warp and weftPlain weave. Teal lengthwise warp threads are held taut on the loom; a gold weft thread passes over one warp and under the next, turns at the edge and comes back the other way, row after row.WarpLengthwise threads,held tight on the loomWeftCrossing threads, passedover and under, row by row

Chapter III: The art of weaving

With the warp threaded and the shuttle filled, the loom comes to life.

The handloom in operation

Lift, pass, beat, change

Every handwoven saree grows through four movements, repeated thousands of times. On a handloom the weaver makes each of them, with hands and feet. First, the loom itself.

A weaver at a wooden handloom, with labels naming its parts: warp beam, warp, heddles, reed, shuttle, weft, cloth, cloth beam and treadles.
The parts of a handloomThe warp runs from the warp beam at the back, through the heddles and the reed, to the cloth at the front. Tap the photograph to enlarge it.
What each part does
  • Warp beam holds the long warp and lets it out as the cloth grows
  • Warp the lengthwise threads, held tight
  • Heddles lift one set of warp threads at a time
  • Reed a fine comb that keeps the warp in order and beats each new thread in
  • Shuttle carries the crossing thread from side to side
  • Weft the crossing thread
  • Cloth the woven saree, growing towards the weaver
  • Cloth beam rolls up the finished cloth
  • Treadles foot pedals that move the heddles
  1. Heddles raising one set of golden warp threads above the other, opening a wedge-shaped gap behind the reed; red cloth in front.

    Step 1

    Lift

    The weaver presses a treadle, and the heddles raise one set of lengthwise threads, opening a space between them: the shed.

  2. A wooden boat shuttle crossing the loom through the open warp, trailing a red thread.

    Step 2

    Pass

    The shuttle carries a new crossing thread, the weft, through that opening.

  3. Two hands pulling the reed towards the woven red cloth.

    Step 3

    Beat

    The reed pushes the new thread firmly against the growing cloth.

  4. The heddle frames changed over: the other set of warp threads is now raised, opening a new shed.

    Step 4

    Change, and repeat

    The opposite set of threads rises, holding the new thread in place, and the weaver repeats the sequence.

How a handloom weavesFour side views of a loom. 1: the heddles lift half of the lengthwise warp threads, opening a gap called the shed. 2: the shuttle carries the weft thread across through the shed. 3: the reed is pulled forward and presses the new weft against the woven cloth. 4: the other half of the warp rises, locking the weft in, and the cycle repeats.1 Liftwarpheddlesreedclothshed2 Passshuttle3 Beat4 Change, and repeat
The same four movements, seen from the side: the heddles open the shed, the shuttle passes, the reed beats, and the heddles change over.

Handloom or powerloom: how to ask

A weaver holding a wooden shuttle beside newly woven ivory-and-gold cloth, the reed and warp close in front of him.
10The cloth takes shapeThe saree grows by one crossing thread at a time. Each pass of the shuttle is pressed home by the reed before the next begins.

Patterns on the loom

Jacquard

The four movements above lift the same two sets of threads in turn, which is all plain cloth needs. A large woven pattern needs a different choice of lengthwise threads, often thread by thread, for almost every row. A Jacquard, mounted above the loom, makes that choice from a chain of punched cards, one card for each row.

It selects warp threads, nothing more: it adds no decorative thread of its own, and it is not a source of power. The weaver still passes the weft and works the loom, and a Jacquard can be fitted to a handloom or to a powerloom.

A wooden loom with a Jacquard attachment above it: hanging punched cards at the side, harness cords reaching down to the warp, and blue patterned cloth in front.
The attachmentIt sits above the loom, its cards hanging at the side and its cords reaching down to the warp.
Close view of linked punched cards passing over the card carrier beside the reading mechanism of a Jacquard.
The punched cardsLaced together into a chain, each card holds one row of the pattern. Where there is a hole, a thread can be lifted; where the card is solid, it cannot.

Who decides where the holes go?

From drawing to punched cards

Every hole in a card is a decision made long before weaving, and it begins with a drawing.

1 Draw. A designer draws the motif: a flower, a creeper, a geometric figure.

2 Plot. The drawing is copied onto squared paper, where each square is one thread-selection position: across, one lengthwise thread (or a group lifted together); down, one pass of the weft. A filled square means “lift this thread in this row”.

3 Punch. Working from the squared design, a card cutter punches one card for each row: a hole for every filled square, solid card elsewhere. The cards are laced into a chain in weaving order.

4 Weave. Card by card, the holes decide which warp threads rise for each pass; the weaver sends the weft through, and the flower appears. The cards only choose: every thread is already on the loom or in the shuttle.

Modern electronic Jacquards skip the cardboard: the design reaches the loom as a digital file.

From drawing to punched cards: how a Jacquard design is codedHow a Jacquard design is coded, in four stages. 1, Draw: a designer draws a small flower with five petals, a stem and two leaves. 2, Plot: the same flower is copied onto squared paper, nine squares across and eleven down; each filled square means lift this lengthwise thread in this row, and one row, through the flower’s centre, is highlighted. 3, Punch: each row of squares becomes one punched card, with a hole for every filled square and solid card elsewhere; the highlighted row is one card in a laced chain. 4, Weave: card by card the Jacquard lifts the chosen warp threads, the weft passes beneath them, and the flower appears in the cloth, the lifted warp showing teal against the gold weft. The cards only choose which threads rise; they add no thread.1 DrawThe designer draws the motif:here, a small flowerA flower, a creeper, a geometric figure2 PlotOn squared paper, each squareis one thread to lift, or notFilled square = lift this threadOne row of squares = one row of weaving3 PunchEach row becomes one card:a hole for every filled square◀The chain continues, one card per rowHole: liftSolid: stay downCards are laced in weaving order4 WeaveCard by card, the chosen warpthreads rise and the flower growsLifted warp shows teal; the weft, goldThe cards choose; the weaver weavesSimplified: one square, one hole, one warp thread. Real designs use far more, and electronic Jacquards receive the design as a digital file instead of cards.From drawing to punched cards: how a Jacquard design is codedHow a Jacquard design is coded, in four stages. 1, Draw: a designer draws a small flower with five petals, a stem and two leaves. 2, Plot: the same flower is copied onto squared paper, nine squares across and eleven down; each filled square means lift this lengthwise thread in this row, and one row, through the flower’s centre, is highlighted. 3, Punch: each row of squares becomes one punched card, with a hole for every filled square and solid card elsewhere; the highlighted row is one card in a laced chain. 4, Weave: card by card the Jacquard lifts the chosen warp threads, the weft passes beneath them, and the flower appears in the cloth, the lifted warp showing teal against the gold weft. The cards only choose which threads rise; they add no thread.1 DrawThe designer draws the motif:here, a small flowerA flower, a creeper, a geometric figure2 PlotOn squared paper, each squareis one thread to lift, or notFilled square = lift this threadOne row of squares = one row of weaving3 PunchEach row becomes one card:a hole for every filled square◀The chain continues, one card per rowHole: liftSolid: stay downCards are laced in weaving order4 WeaveCard by card, the chosen warpthreads rise and the flower growsLifted warp shows teal; the weft, goldThe cards choose; the weaver weavesSimplified: one square, one hole, onewarp thread. Electronic Jacquardsreceive the design as a digital fileinstead of cards.

How the cards choose

From card to cloth

Reader needles feel each card in turn. A rising knife then lifts only the hooks the card left in place, and with them their warp threads; the weaver passes the weft beneath. The cards select; the weaver operates the loom.

How a Jacquard selects the threads for a woven patternA simplified single-lift Jacquard in three stages. 1, the card is read: a chain of linked punched cards; each card holds one row of the pattern as holes. Where there is a hole, a reader needle passes into it and stays where it is; where the card is solid, the needle is pushed back. 2, the threads are selected: a hook left in place is caught by the rising lifting knife and lifts its harness cord, heddle eye and warp end; a hook pushed aside misses the knife and its warp end stays down. The cards select the pattern; the weaver works the loom, and the treadle raises the knife. 3, the woven pattern grows: the next card lifts a different set of warp ends, the weft passes between the lifted and lowered ends, the reed beats it in, and row after row the motif appears in the cloth.1 The card is readEach card holds one row of thepattern, as a set of holesCardchainHoleSolid cardLacingHoleThe needle passes inand stays where it isReader needleSolid cardThe card pushes theneedle backReader needleWhere there is a hole, the thread can belifted. Where the card is solid, it cannot.2 The threads are selectedA rising knife lifts only thehooks the card left in placeHoleSolid cardKnifeHookNeedleHarnesscordLiftedPushed offthe knifeStays downWarp end, seen end onCards selectthe patternThe weaverworks the loomThe weaver’s treadle raises the knife;the cards only choose which hooks it catches.3 The woven pattern growsThe next card lifts a differentset of threads for the next rowLast rowNext cardLiftedDownselectsWeftThe reed then beats the new row in.Clothnew rowCard after card, row after row,the woven pattern grows.Simplified: here one hook lifts one warp end; in practice a hook often lifts a group of them, and machines differ.How a Jacquard selects the threads for a woven patternA simplified single-lift Jacquard in three stages. 1, the card is read: a chain of linked punched cards; each card holds one row of the pattern as holes. Where there is a hole, a reader needle passes into it and stays where it is; where the card is solid, the needle is pushed back. 2, the threads are selected: a hook left in place is caught by the rising lifting knife and lifts its harness cord, heddle eye and warp end; a hook pushed aside misses the knife and its warp end stays down. The cards select the pattern; the weaver works the loom, and the treadle raises the knife. 3, the woven pattern grows: the next card lifts a different set of warp ends, the weft passes between the lifted and lowered ends, the reed beats it in, and row after row the motif appears in the cloth.1 The card is readEach card holds one row of thepattern, as a set of holesCardchainHoleSolid cardLacingHoleThe needle passes inand stays where it isReader needleSolid cardThe card pushes theneedle backReader needleWhere there is a hole, the thread can belifted. Where the card is solid, it cannot.2 The threads are selectedA rising knife lifts only thehooks the card left in placeHoleSolid cardKnifeHookNeedleHarnesscordLiftedPushed offthe knifeStays downWarp end, seen end onCards selectthe patternThe weaverworks the loomThe weaver’s treadle raises the knife;the cards only choose which hooks it catches.3 The woven pattern growsThe next card lifts a differentset of threads for the next rowLast rowNext cardLiftedDownselectsWeftThe reed then beats the new row in.Clothnew rowCard after card, row after row,the woven pattern grows.Simplified: here one hook lifts one warp end;in practice a hook often lifts a group of them.
A weaver at a handloom with a Jacquard head and its cards above, blue patterned silk emerging below.
The pattern growsThe weaver works the loom while the cards above choose the threads for each row. Card after card, the pattern appears in the cloth.
Green silk body, a pink-and-gold border and a decorated end section arranged in folds.
Borders and palluBorders and pallu are woven in as the cloth is made, often in contrasting colours, and sometimes with threads entirely their own.
Teal silk meeting a broad, ornate gold-coloured woven border.
ZariThe metallic-looking thread of borders and motifs: usually a fine strip wound round a core thread. It ranges from gilded silver to copper or polyester film. How zari is made

Woven in, not sewn on

How borders and pallus take shape

Most borders and pallus are made in the ordinary course of weaving: coloured lengthwise threads at the edges make a border, and a change of crossing threads makes a pallu. Korvai and petni go further. Each builds a true junction into the cloth, and the two run in different directions.

Along the length

Korvai: a border with its own crossing thread

An ordinary border shares the body’s crossing thread. In traditional korvai, the body and each side border have their own, each carried by its own shuttle, and the two hook round each other at every row. That is how a border in a completely different colour is woven in the same moment as the body.

Korvai in the Kanjivaram study

A woven border: the ordinary way and korvaiTwo close-ups of the place where a saree’s body meets its side border, each with a small saree map. Left, an ordinary woven border: garnet lengthwise threads at the edge make the border, one teal crossing thread runs right across body and border, and a gold decorative yarn is floated over the border; it is one continuous weave with no join. Right, korvai: the border and the body each have their own crossing thread, carried by its own shuttle, and the two turn back at the junction and hook round each other on every row. The korvai join runs along the length of the saree.Ordinary woven borderColoured lengthwise threads make theborder; one crossing thread runs acrossOne continuous weave: no joinBorderBodyone weftKorvaiBorder and body each have their owncrossing thread, hooked togetherThe join runs along the lengthBorder weftBody weftA woven border: the ordinary way and korvaiTwo close-ups of the place where a saree’s body meets its side border, each with a small saree map. Left, an ordinary woven border: garnet lengthwise threads at the edge make the border, one teal crossing thread runs right across body and border, and a gold decorative yarn is floated over the border; it is one continuous weave with no join. Right, korvai: the border and the body each have their own crossing thread, carried by its own shuttle, and the two turn back at the junction and hook round each other on every row. The korvai join runs along the length of the saree.Ordinary woven borderColoured lengthwise threads make theborder; one crossing thread runs acrossOne continuous weave: no joinBorderBodyone weftKorvaiBorder and body each have their owncrossing thread, hooked togetherThe join runs along the lengthBorder weftBody weft

Across the width

Petni: new lengthwise threads for the pallu

An ordinary contrasting pallu keeps the body’s lengthwise threads and changes the crossing threads. Petni changes the lengthwise threads themselves: new threads in the pallu colour are woven in alongside the body’s for a short stretch, and the body’s threads are then cut and their ends finished.

Petni in the Kanjivaram study

A contrasting pallu: on the same warp, or petniTwo close-ups of the place where the body ends and the pallu begins, each with a small saree map. Left, a pallu on the same warp: the teal lengthwise threads run on unchanged, while the crossing threads change to the pallu colour and gold pattern yarn is added; there is no join. Right, petni: new garnet lengthwise threads for the pallu begin a little before the body’s threads end, the two sets are woven together for a short overlap, and the body’s threads are then cut. The petni join runs across the width of the saree.Pallu on the same warpThe lengthwise threads run on; thecrossing threads change colour and patternOne continuous warp: no joinSame lengthwise threads throughoutPetniNew lengthwise threads for the pallu,joined to the body’s in a short overlapThe join runs across the widthShortoverlapBody threads cut after the overlapA contrasting pallu: on the same warp, or petniTwo close-ups of the place where the body ends and the pallu begins, each with a small saree map. Left, a pallu on the same warp: the teal lengthwise threads run on unchanged, while the crossing threads change to the pallu colour and gold pattern yarn is added; there is no join. Right, petni: new garnet lengthwise threads for the pallu begin a little before the body’s threads end, the two sets are woven together for a short overlap, and the body’s threads are then cut. The petni join runs across the width of the saree.Pallu on the same warpThe lengthwise threads run on; thecrossing threads change colour and patternOne continuous warp: no joinSame lengthwise threads throughoutPetniNew lengthwise threads for the pallu,joined to the body’s in a short overlapThe join runs across the widthShortoverlapBody threads cut after the overlap

Chapter IV: Beyond the basic weave

Some patterns are dyed into the threads before weaving; others are woven in with extra pattern threads. Each belongs to particular sarees; none is a stage in every one.

Pattern before weaving

Ikat

In ikat the design exists before a single row is woven. Bundles of thread are tied tightly where colour must not go, then dyed; untied, each thread carries its share of the pattern.

Pattern one set of threads and it is single ikat. Pattern both, and align them as they cross, and it is double ikat, the method of Patan Patola.

How ikat is woven, in Motifs & Techniques

Ikat: the pattern is dyed into the threads before weavingThree steps: a bundle of threads is tied tightly in planned places; it is dyed, and the dye reaches only the untied parts; untied, the threads carry the pattern before a single row is woven. Below, two woven results: single ikat, where only the lengthwise threads were patterned, so the motif appears through plain crossing threads; and double ikat, where both sets were patterned and aligned so the motif forms where they meet.1 TieThreads are bound wherethe colour must not go2 DyeThe dye reaches onlythe parts left open3 UntieThe pattern is in thethreads before weavingSingle ikatOne set of threads patterned:here the lengthwise warpDouble ikatBoth sets patterned, andaligned as they crossThe soft, feathered edges come from tied threads shifting slightly as they are woven.

Ornament woven in

Brocade and its motifs

Brocade is the broad name for cloth whose ornament is woven in with extra pattern threads, often zari. They are added to the ground and show on the face only where the design needs them, so the ornament is part of the cloth, not printed or embroidered on top.

Dense gold-coloured floral patterning covering red fabric.
BrocadeHere the pattern threads cover much of the surface.
Small gold-coloured flower motifs scattered across a deep red silk ground.
ButisThe designs have their own vocabulary. Small motifs repeated across the ground are butis; a larger single motif is a buta; a connected network is a jaal. Motifs & Techniques

A Banarasi distinction

Kadwa, fekwa and cutwork

Within a Banarasi brocade, the same gold motif can be woven in different ways. From the front the results can look alike; the back of the cloth shows the difference. In kadwa, each motif is woven with its own thread, so nothing runs between them. In fekwa, the pattern thread travels on from motif to motif, lying behind the cloth across the gaps. Cutwork describes what is often done to fekwa next: those carried lengths are clipped after weaving.

Kadwa, fekwa and cutwork in the Banarasi study

The back of a burgundy Banarasi brocade: short clipped gold thread ends around each woven motif; a turned corner shows the smooth front.
Woven cutwork, from the back: short clipped ends around each motif.
Kadwa, fekwa and cutwork: three ways with a Banarasi pattern threadThree ways of handling the gold pattern thread of a Banarasi brocade, each shown from the front and from the back, from left to right: kadwa, fekwa, cutwork. From the front the three look alike: gold motifs on an intact silk ground. On the back, kadwa shows each motif woven with its own thread, which turns back at the motif edge, so nothing runs between the motifs; fekwa shows the pattern thread carried across the gaps from motif to motif as long floats; cutwork shows those fekwa floats clipped after weaving, leaving short ends beside each motif. The ground stays whole in all three.KadwaEach motif is wovenwith its own threadFRONTBACKTurns back at its edgeFekwaThe pattern thread travelson from motif to motifFRONTBACKFloats carried behindCutworkThe fekwa floats,clipped after weavingFRONTBACKShort clipped endsSimplified and drawn larger than life. Trade names overlap: cutwork describes how carried floats were finished.Kadwa, fekwa and cutwork: three ways with a Banarasi pattern threadThree ways of handling the gold pattern thread of a Banarasi brocade, each shown from the front and from the back, from left to right: kadwa, fekwa, cutwork. From the front the three look alike: gold motifs on an intact silk ground. On the back, kadwa shows each motif woven with its own thread, which turns back at the motif edge, so nothing runs between the motifs; fekwa shows the pattern thread carried across the gaps from motif to motif as long floats; cutwork shows those fekwa floats clipped after weaving, leaving short ends beside each motif. The ground stays whole in all three.KadwaEach motif is wovenwith its own threadFRONTBACKTurns back at its edgeFekwaThe pattern thread travelson from motif to motifFRONTBACKFloats carried behindCutworkThe fekwa floats,clipped after weavingFRONTBACKShort clipped endsSimplified, larger than life. Cutworkdescribes how carried floats were finished.
Hands at the edge of fine white cloth on a loom, laying a red pattern thread into a small motif with a slender bamboo tool.
Jamdani at the loomWith a slender tool and a small spool, the weaver lays a pattern thread into fine cotton, one small motif at a time.

Kadwa’s close relative

Jamdani

Jamdani builds its motifs on the same principle as kadwa. A pattern thread is laid in only where a motif is needed, worked back and forth within it and turned back at its edge, while the ground runs from edge to edge. The specialist name for both is a discontinuous supplementary weft.

What differs is the tradition around it. Jamdani’s best-known expression is fine cotton from Bengal and Bangladesh, its motifs seeming to float on an almost sheer ground, and in classic cotton Jamdani the pattern thread is inserted by hand. Kadwa is a way of working the motifs of Banarasi silk brocade, often in zari. This drawing shows a Jamdani motif from the front; the kadwa panel above shows the same kind of thread from the back.

Jamdani in the Regional Atlas

Jamdani: motifs woven in one at a timeA fine ivory ground, its warp and weft running edge to edge. Two diamond motifs are built from a thicker garnet pattern thread that is laid in only across each motif, row by row, turning back at the motif edge. Each motif has its own separate thread, held in place by the ground threads.GroundFine warp and weft runedge to edgeA ground weft:right acrossPattern threadLaid in only where themotif is, row after row,turning back at its edgeEach motif has itsown short threadShown larger than life: the pattern thread is thicker than the fine ground yarn.

Off the loom

A woman lifting a red silk saree with a gold border to the light of a window to examine it.
11FinishingOff the loom, the saree is checked by eye and by hand, its ends finished and the cloth folded: six yards that began as a basket of cocoons.

Behind every handwoven saree are reelers, twisters, dyers, warpers and weavers, and days, weeks or months at the loom. That is worth knowing when you hold one.

Keep exploring

To see a weaving community at work, visit Kanjivaram Sari (opens in a new tab), a photographic story by Dastkari Haat Samiti on Google Arts & Culture (text by Aloka Hiremath and Jaya Jaitly, photographs by Chirodeep Chaudhuri).