Yarns used

Originally, Chanderi was always woven using handspun cotton warps and wefts. It was spun as fine as 300 counts, and was as prized amongst cotton fabrics as the famed muslins of Dhaka. In olden days, spinning was done by clan known as Khatiyers through “a hole in the finger nail” and could spin a yarn of 220 counts. The essence of Chanderi is the textile that has been woven here for centuries. Around 1920, silk was imported to Chanderi. However, the Industrial Revolution sounded the first death knell on this beautiful textile. The British imported cheaper 120 to 200 count cotton from Manchester via Calcutta, which greatly eroded the market for the more expensive Chanderi cloth. In the 1930s, Chanderi weavers discovered Japanese silk, which came via Calcutta. They began substituting this in the warps in cotton saris, and also developed a silk-by-silk variety in which their profit margins were higher which contributed to the end of the cotton by cotton saris in the course of the 20th century. As a result, today, it is difficult to find a genuine cotton-by-cotton Chanderi sari in retail establishments. The problem of sourcing authentic Chanderi has been exacerbated by the development of many look-alikes available at cheaper rates. A 13/15 denier single silk yarn and 100 to 120 count cotton yarn are commonly used. 200s count cotton yarn was used before when available. Gold thread is obtained from Surat. Certain fabrics are technically called nalferwa saris, in which three shuttles are used for weaving borders and body. Organzine silk yarn is used in both warp and weft in the border, while 12/15 denier single silk yarn is used in the body warp and 100s to 120s count yarns in the body weft. Dyeing is done with synthetic dyes. The fine silk yarn used as warp is single and is not degummed to prevent breakage in weaving. The warp is made on a vertical warping mill for which the bobbins are mostly made on a power-operated machine, which also serves as a twisting machine. The weft is wound on pins, on charkhas and on bamboo tillies for buti weaving.

Techniques adopted in Chanderi weaving

The length of a Chanderi sari is usually 524 inches and breadth is 123 inches and thread count is warp 57 and weft 25. The techniques adopted
in Chanderi weaving are;
1. Fekwa
2. Kardhwan
3. Cotton
4. Silk
5. Jari
6. Treadles and headless
7. Jala
8. Jacquard machine