The Process of Jamdani Weaving

The sari has been the mainstay of the Jamdani weaving industry. The weavers of Bengal are very proud of their ability to weave fabrics that are highly appreciated across the world.

While many technological innovations have advanced the nature of textiles in the west, it is hard to beat the psychological pleasure of wearing muslin of the finest quality, knowing they are woven by hand.

The fine cotton yarn used for the base fabric needs starching in order to give it strength to withstand the stress on the loom.

Traditional sizing methods use a particular type of rice starch (from Kalma rice).

The yarn is then transferred onto spools or bobbins to be used for the warp and weft.

Frame looms are used for Jamdani weaving, and the warp is prepared on a warping drum.

The ends are manually drawn through the reed when a new warp is prepared.

Jacquard looms have made it possible to make intricate designs, since the lifting order of the warp threads is defined by the jacquard cards.

A supplementary industry around weaving is that of dyeing.

Small dyeing units locally dye yarns according to weavers’ requirements.

The dyeing process is mostly manual, and caters to the small and specific requirements of handloom units.

The dyeing houses provide dyed yarn directly to weavers and also supply it to yarn markets further away.

Read more about Jamdani weaving here:
- Weaving Centers
-Contemporary interventions