Pochampally sarees

Pochampally Saree or Pochampalli Ikat is a saree made in Boodhan Pochampally, Nalgonda district, India. They are popular for their traditional geometric patterns in Ikat style of dyeing. 

Pochampally silk saree manufacturing history goes back to 1970, when it was decided by some village headmen of Pochampally to weave silk along with cotton(cotton weaving was being done since very long back), to make a better living. They have sent two young weavers to learn the secrets of the art to Bangalore. This was the beginning of a revolutionary era in the Pochampally handloom industry, which led to the eventual dominance of the Indian tie&die patola Industry.

You may also Like to read about  Kanceepuram Sarees

Kerala Sari - Kasavu saree

Known as Kasavu sari or Setu Sari

The 'Kasavu' Sari of Kerala is a cultural handloom sari that is made of pure cotton, the color being creamy white or pure white, with detailed or simple gold border artwork done on its pallu. Kasavu saris are hand weaved. The border or Kasavu is made by dipping thread in real gold and then interwoven to create intricate borders or animal shapes or sometimes simple border.

Though Kerala Sari is worn by many as an everyday costume, it is during the festivals like Onam and Vishu, that one can see the typical Kerala dressing when most of the women wear Kasavu sarees and blouse matching the sari border color.

You may also Like to read about  Kanceepuram Sarees

Kancheepuram Sari

Kancheepuram town is also known as Silk City since the main profession of the people is weaving silk sarees. The weavers of Kancheepuram have earned the reputation as the producer of the best silk sarees in the country. 

The Kanchipuram Silk Saree is hand-woven with dyed silk yarn with interleaved designs made with 'Zari' - a Silk thread twisted with a thin Silver wire and then gilded with pure Gold. Technically, the silk thread used for weaving Kanchipuram Sarees is made up of three single threads twisted together.Woven from pure mulberry silk and have an enviable reputation for texture, lustre, durability and finish. Hence, the Kanchipuram Silk Saree is usually stronger (and more expensive) than its counterparts from Arni, Dharmavaram, etc. However, the designs on the Saree itself are what brings it the fame. To compare with other silk sarees, the Kancheepuram silk sarees are very famous in the world. The glamour of the Kanchipuram silk sarees is in its colour contrasts. Temple borders, checks, stripes and floral (buttas) are traditional designs you will find in Kanchipuram sarees. In a genuine Kanchipuram Silk Sarees, body and border are woven separately and then interlocked together. The joint is woven so strongly that even if the sarees tears, the border will not detach.

Kancheepuram sarees are available at a cost anywhere between INR 2500 (US$38) to INR 100000 (US$1,500) or more depending upon the intricacy of work, colors, pattern, material used like zari, gold thread etc.

How to check whether you are buying pure kancheepuram silk?

Take a few threads from the warp and weft and burn them from their ends. When the thread stops burning, a very tiny ash ball might be left behind.Rub the ball in-between your fingers and smell the powdered ash. If it is pure silk, it will smell like burnt hair. Silk, wool, leather and hair all burn alike and form an ash ball. In case of artificial silk, the fibers will flare and burn out quickly there will be neither ash ball nor smell like burnt hair. This silk fabric test is sure to help you while buying silk fabric.

Tips to preserve silk sarees.

• Always refold them every 3 months to avoid tear.
• Keep them in a dry and cold place covered in muslin cloth and always fold in such a way to avoid damage to the zari and let the zari be faced inwards to preserve sheen.
• As these sarees are worn only for 2 to 3 hrs at a time, there is no need to wash it after every use, just airing it inside the house will do.
• You can either dry clean or wash it at home using mild shampoo and we need to wash body, pallu, and border separately.

You may also like to read about Kerala Sarees , Pochampully Sarees

How to wear a Sari

Wearing a saree is perceived differently by women of different ages and of different backgrounds. For many women it is as easy as wearing a salwar. Mostly moms above 50s and young ladies who grew up wearing sarees regularly come in this category. Majority of the younger generation today find it as a big challenge to wear a saree. Saree is not a day to day dress for them because they find it uncomfortable. Saree is only for special occasions for this category.

The most common style of wearing saree is by wrapping one end of it around the waist with pleats in front and pinning the neatly folded other end on the left shoulder over the blouse. This is also known as Nivi style.  Different parts of the country have various styles of wearing the Sari also like Bengali style, Maharashtrian style, Gujarati style etc.

Two essential parts of the attire, which go along with sari, need to be chosen carefully to compliment the sari. These are

·         A petticoat / inskirt which is a waist to floor garment, tied tightly at the waist by a drawstring. The petticoat color should match the base sari color as closely as possible. No part of the inskirt should be visible outside the Sari after having worn it.

·         A blouse which needs to be tight fitting and whose color needs to be chosen keeping the look of the sari in mind.

Step 1

First step is tucking one end of the Saree in the petticoat/inskirt and wrap one full round. If you wear high heels the height of the heels is important in determining where the bottom of the saree should reach.

Step 2

Take the top end of your saree in your right hand and circle it around your waist till you come to the front. Make sure you maintain the same height as you wrap it around waistline. Now tuck the top edge of the Saree inside the petticoat. 

Step 3

Make about 5 to 7 pleats of equal width of 5 inches, starting at the tucked-in end. Gather the pleats together, neatly, ensuring that the lower edges of the pleats are even and just off the ground and that the pleats fall straight and evenly. A safety pin may be used to stop the pleats from scattering.

Step 4

Tuck the pleats neatly inside your petticoat and smoothen the pleats to your choice. The pleats should fall straight and even.

Step 5

Take the remaining length and pass it on to your left, gently round your waistline and bring it under your right arm. Pull over the drape to tighten around the hips and waist.

Step 6

Slightly raise the remaining portion of the Sari on your back, bringing it up under the right arm and over the left shoulder so that the end of the Sari falls to about the level of your knees.

The end portion thus draped, from the left shoulder onwards, is called the Pallav or the Pallu, and can be prevented from slipping off the shoulder, by fastening it at the shoulder to the blouse with a small safety pin.

You can read about the history of indian sarees here

Related Links  Kancheepuram sarees  , Kerala Sarees

History of Indian Saree

The Indian Saree or Sari is one of the worlds oldest and may be the only surviving unstitched garment from the previous generations.  Over decades it has become one of the most sensuous and glamorous outfit for the Indian woman. It has become an all time wear for many of the Indian woman. It is one of the most preferred ethnic wear for weddings and parties.

Saree is now becoming famous around the globe, thanks to the increasing popularity of Bollywood. Saree is also now a medium for the weavers and designers to create artistic weaves and designs.

The Saree has a long history.  In the history of Indian clothing, Saree is traced back to the Indus valley civilization which flourished during 2800-1800 BC.  The earliest depiction of the saree in the history is the statue of an Indus valley priest wearing a drape- Sari like drape covering the entire body, dating back to 100 BC.

The word Sari is a corrupted version of the Sanskrit word ‘sati’ which means ‘strip of cloth’.  

Sari is also mentioned in the world’s longest epic ‘Mahabharata’. When the pandavas lost their wife Draupathi  to the enemies Kauravas in a gambling duel, the victors caught one end of her sari and continued to pull and unravel, but could not reach the end as Lord Krishna came to the rescue of Draupati .

Initially they used to wear the Sari alone. The blouse or Choli came into existence during the Chola Dynasty in the 9th to 13th century AD.

Now there are thousands of weavers across india engaged in the handloom production of saree. There are hundreds of weaving centres across india distributed across various villages including Kancheepuram in Tamilnadu, Kuthampully in Kerala, Pochampully in Andhra Pradesh and Chanderi in Madya Pradesh.


Some of the Famous handloom sarees of India are Kancheepuram Sarees,  Kerala Kasavu Saree, ,  Pochampully Saree, Chanderi Sarees etc

To learn how to wear a saree please check http://fashionmanthraa.blogspot.in/2014/01/how-to-wear-sari.html