1	Handloom Culture Artisan to Fashion Brought to you by: Rupalee.com, Sanskruti, and Sripriya contractor
2	Bandhani Bandhani is a type of dyeing practiced mainly in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, The term “bandhani” derives its name from a Hindi word Bandhan which means tying up. Bandhani work involves tying and dyeing of pieces of cotton or silk cloth. The main colors used in Bandhani are yellow, red, green and black. Bandhani work, after the processing is over, results into a variety of symbols including, dots, squares, waves and strips. The ripple effect is achieved when lengths of permeable muslin are rolled diagonally from one corner to the opposite, bound tightly at intervals and then dyed. The ties are then undone and the process repeated by diagonally rolling the adjacent corner toward the opposite and repeating the process.
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4	Banarasi Banarasi sarees come from the ancient Indian city of Varanasi, where most of the locals thrive by making these sarees. To create the Banarasi effect, three different craftsmen must work at the loom. One weaves the sari, another works at the revolving ring to create lacchas or bundles, and the last works on creating the design motif. These three craftsmen create sarees that are all unique in style and color. To create these designs, the artist first draws on graph paper. Then, punch cards are made which act as a model for the sarees. Most of the designers of these sarees have no formal design training, yet their creations inspire artists everywhere.
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6	Designers Sari
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8	Chanderi Chanderi, a small town in India, has been a well known center for beautiful woven silk saris. Chanderi is located on the ancient trade routes and its cultures and traditions are the result of a mix of external influences, which often find depiction in the fabrics produced here. Chanderi silk is the result of the traditional methods of sizing and hand weaving methods that have been perfected over the centuries, and passed down through generations. Chanderi is considered the fabric of choice for saris produced for royalty, due to its high weight quality and intricate designs. The craftsmanship of this sector is very refined and exclusive in nature. Placement of motifs is a specialty of this sector as each weft is inserted individually.
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10	Kota Kota, ideal for the hot summers of India, is a muslin fabric woven with alternating threads of silk and cotton. The weavers, of which there are over 1200, pass the tradition of creating Kota designs from generation to generation.. They will go on creating Kota designs for as long as the tradition lasts.
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12	Chikan Work In chikan work, stitching is always done with white cotton rough thread and the fabrics used is usually cotton. There are various stitches used in Chikankari. They vary according to the kind of designs and materials used. The most frequently used stitch is the satin stitch. This is a very delicate and minute stitch. Other stitches like the darning stitch, stem stitch, chain stitch etc. are also used. All these stitches are sometimes used individually but more often in combination of two or more together to fill the whole motif.
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14	Mirror Work Mirror work is the art of stitching mirrors on to the fabric in a variety of designs. Mirrors of different shapes (Square, Diamond, Round etc) and sizes are used for Mirror work. The production consists of placing the mirror on the cloth & drawing the out line. Then, mark a dotted line 1/2 cm away from the outline. On the dotted line work chain stitch loosely. Join the last & first chain . Then pass the thread through the inner chain. when it reaches the last chain, insert the mirror and pull the thread and make it tight. Bring the needle out through any chain and then take the needle down the fabric and end it with a knot.
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16	Katha
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18	Block Printing Hand Block printing is a major part of the cultural heritage of Rajasthan. The idea of using an object to impress repeated designs on cloth can be traced to prehistoric times. The first application of color to cloth was probably by hand. This progressed to twigs and brushes, then stamps made from clay, metal, and wood. Once a teak block is carved, the cloth is stretched out on a waist high table five meters long A tray is filled with the pigment and the block is placed in to it to collect the accurate amount of dye. Another tray, which contains a metal grid with layers of fabric laid on top, is filled with dye. The dye soaks through the fabric, which then acts as an ink pad against which the block is to be pressed. The block is then placed carefully on the fabric and struck with the heel of the printer’s hand. The process is repeated, precisely aligning the block each time until the entire cloth is covered. This means that the cloth can be stamped over a 1000 times for three meters.
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20	Kharia
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22	Zardozi Zardozi is an ancient Persian embroidery form (Zar in Persian means gold and Dozi is embroidery) that has been passed down for generations. The rarity of precious metal lead to the use of copper with gold or silver polish or the silk thread. Now the embroidery style is back in bloom. Zari embroidery is done with a crochet hook using the metallic thread and appears like chain stitch. Zari elements like coiled wire, dabka, tilla, beads etc are used to create the motifs. Zardozi can alternatively be called metallic appliqué embroidery. The process involves tracing out the design on the cloth preferably rich fabrics like silk, satin velvet etc. The fabric is stretched over the wooden frame and the embroidery work begins. Each zardozi element is picked up by the needle and incorporated appropriately into the pattern by pushing the needle in the fabric.
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24	Panetar
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26	Kanjeevaram The Kanjeevaram silk sari is one of the most finest and most popular forms of silk in Tamilnadu. Kanjeevaram uses a combination of colored threads and also has lot of zari work. Its major attractions are the beautiful tribal designs. The zari work on the border and the pallav are generally woven using gold-dipped silver threads. The designers, that design the intricate borders and the exquisite pallavs, along with the weavers form a team that weaves exquisiteness from a few strands of silk. Every saree is an imaginative creation, and no two sarees are identical. Kanjeevaram sarees are a classy attire, fit for countless occasions like weddings, religious ceremonies and parties.
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28	Ikat Ikat is a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design. Ikat means "to tie" or "to bind“. Before the warp strings are attached to the loom they are arranged into bundles. Each bundle is tied and dyed separately, so that a pattern will emerge when the loom is set up. This takes a good deal of skill. The tightly bound bundles are sometimes covered with wax or some other material that will keep the dyes from penetrating. The process is repeated several times for additional colors. The pattern is visible to the weaver when the dyed threads are used as warp. Threads can be adjusted so that they line up correctly with each other. Some Ikat styles don't try to get the patterns precisely lined up, but in others the patterns are so accurate, that you have to look closely to determine that the pattern was not printed on the cloth.
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30	Vegetable Dye Sari
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32	Applique Work In appliqué, different pieces of cloth are patched together to make a multi colored mosaic. The exotic colors, shapes and pattern combinations against contrasting backgrounds catch the eye. In Rajasthan, appliqué is used for wall-paintings and canopies which are used for processions and festive occasions. The specialty of Rajasthani appliqué work is the bedspread made by stitching together different colored cloth in a decorative pattern on top of a spread padded by other pieces of plain material sewn together with a running stitch. Just as there are a few fixed designs, only a limited number of colors are used in the traditional appliqué craft. These are green, red, blue, amber and black. The creativity of the craftsmen is seen in the various combinations of motifs as well as in the mixing of these limited colors.
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