Natural and Handloom textile
According to Britannica, textile produced from naturally occurring raw materials (plant and animal sources) that can be spun into yarn and woven into cloth is a natural fiber based textile. Cotton, linen, muslin, silk, wool, are all natural fabric. Natural, handcrafted textile is at the center of everything we make and showcase on our platform.
Handloom cotton
Cotton textile woven by using hand spun, partly hand spun, or machine spun yarn on a manually operated loom is called handloom cotton.
Cotton is also woven on other looms like on auto looms (operates like a handloom but uses a pre-set machine in place of a person for weaving), power looms etc.
Handloom cotton typically comes in widths of 44 inch or less, and a single running length of 12 meters approximately, because of the size of a manual loom. Auto loom fabric too falls in the same category. Textile produced by power looms (and others at an industrial scale) are wider and running lengths can be much longer.
Handloom textile has a distinct natural surface texture and soft hand-feel. There are various types of handloom cotton depending on the type of weaving technique used, the fineness of the yarn used or for that matter the type of raw yarn used.
Kala Cotton
This is an indigenous variety of cotton found in western India that is considered more sustainable than conventionally grown cotton varieties. It is entirely rain fed and is naturally pest resistant. The yarn produced from this variety is slightly thicker so the woven textile has a lovely surface texture. While it looks more coarse than finer handloom textile like Jamdani at first glance, it is one of the softest hand-feel textiles and lasts for years and gets softer with each wash.
Image credit - khamir.org
Khadi Cotton
In the simplest way, a textile is called khadi when it is made using hand spun yarn and then is handwoven on a loom. This process can be used for cotton, silk and wool. Khadi cloth comes in variations from rough spun and woven for thicker textile to the finest softest lightest fabric that comes from extremely deft yarn spinning and weaving.
Jamdani cotton
It is a traditional centuries-old weaving technique that finds its roots in the Bengal region of south Asia (now Bangladesh and West Bengal in India). The craft is characterized by its supplementary weft technique of weaving to create motifs and patterns, giving it an almost three-dimensional pattern. The work, which is all done by hand, requires a high degree of skill and time. In 2013, the art of Jamdani weaving was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Muslin (mulmul)
Muslin, is the lightest softest woven cotton that is perfect for summer and for humid climates. It is said to have originated in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was a prized product and originally worn only by royalty. Given its long history, it even finds mention in texts written by ancient Greek and Roman writers and was a prized import trade product in Europe in the 17th century. Muslin is translucent and feather weight and a popular choice for summer apparel.
Cotton voile
This is a lightweight, tightly woven, slightly translucent fabric. While it can be handwoven it is usually woven in factories and available in wider widths than 44 inch. It is extremely popular and extensively sued for making hand block printed textile.
Linen
Linen is a fabric made from flax plants. It is extremely absorbent and durable and can be worn for years with care. Handwoven linen has an extremely beautiful texture because of the nature of hand weaving. Of late handwoven linen silk has gained popularity because of its hand-feel, lustre, and flow.
Silk
In India, Mulberry silk makes up for about 80% of the total silk textile produced, followed by Tussar silk, Muga silk and Eri silk. Muga is only made in the eastern state of Assam in India.
Mulberry silk is widely used to create cotton – silk woven blends and the resulting fabric is feather eight with the luster of silk and the strength of cotton, making it perfect for creating all season apparel.
Mashru silk, popular for sarees and apparel, is a way of weaving silk and cotton in a way that the face of the textile is silk and the reverse is cotton.
Wool
Wool weaving has existed across northern, western and eastern India in various forms. While shawls and scarfs are the most popular woven wool items today, hand woven woolen textile is used by many sustainable brands to create winter apparel. Depending on the region and dominant weaving styles, artisans use sheep wool, lamb wool, merino wool, yak wool, or pashmina wool to weave exquisite textile and shawls with various motifs and patterns woven in. Across regions, wool shawls are also dyed and printed with natural colours to create heirloom pieces that last a lifetime.
CARING FOR YOUR HANDLOOM TEXTILE
We have created a detailed guide that you can access here.