In earlier days, handloom weavers of village Andhalgaon, Mohadi and Palandur District Bhandara, the part of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra used to produce cotton gamchha with 20s cotton yarn in warp and weft having two side Karvati border (Solid border). “Karvat” in Marathi is the saw and since the designs look like saw tooth, the fabric is known as Karvati or Karvatkati. District Bhandara is a Tussar cocoon producing area. Having plenty of raw material the weavers introduced Tussar material in weaving of Tussar Karvati saris.
Material Used: The Tussar is wild natural silk obtained from a wide wing moth that is yellowish brown in colour. The Tussar produced in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra is supposed to be best in quality and colour due to unique environmental conditions of this region. Mostly the tribals traditionally do the job of protecting cocoons on trees in forests. The Tussar yarn so obtained is used for production of saris.
Technique applied: The Tussar Karvati sari is woven with three shuttle weaving (tapestry type of weaving technique) to have solid colour border and body. The border is woven with mercerized cotton yarn and body is woven with pure Tussar hand reeled yarn. The borders are narrow and feature diamonds, rudraksha and the outstandingly beautiful chevron like tapestry design which is a combination of leheri, jaali and karvat. The sari is woven on a pit loom mounted with Nagpuri wooden lattice dobby on the top of the loom above the weaver’s seat. The uniqueness of the Tussar Karvati sari is that, the border of the sari is woven with various temple designs in different sizes. Ganga Jamuna borders are also woven and bright borders in Pink, Red, Maroon, Olive green, Yellow Ochre and Black are readily available, which provide a delightful contrast to the sombre mien of the Vidharba Tussar. The traditional motifs are woven with extra warp threads controlled by lattice dobby.
How to distinguish:
- Hand reeled Tussar is used. Fabric appearance is not flat and uniform. There are uneven picks in irregular fashion.
- Feel is harsh and the colour is darker beige
- Saw tooth designs of various sizes are woven in the border of the sari in tapestry technique.
