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Hand-wovens are the outcome of a wondrous intermeshing between 2 sets of threads (called warp and weft) sporadically, forging into a fabric using hand-driven looms.
They are India’s 2000-year old inheritance we glorify and at the same time hold out to the world, ever since one reminisces. The beginning of textiles in India dates back to somewhere in the Indus valley period, the only witnesses back then being paintings and sculptures. India endows 95% of the world's handloom fabric, but our rich tradition is falling apart due to reduced returns on arduous labour and radical competition from power loom fabrics, hence facing an existential crisis.
Many of our renowned and young designers are embracing handwoven fabrics like never before as an endeavour to elevate hand weavers into mainstream and safeguarding this dying culture. Our humble efforts at FFAB are also to encourage the Indian handloom industry. We are doing our bit to conserve this art by engaging 1375+ handloom & powerloom weavers & artisans, thus equipping them to grow through our platform.
You’ll be startled to know these engrossing facts about Hand-woven fabrics:
- Hand weavers can create unique patterns/ motifs on fabrics from their wildest imagination, so resplendent no machines can reiterate.
- The rare textures on handwoven fabrics are of incomparable beauty which is highly valued by buyers across the world. At times irregularity created in weaves by hand weaver is even applauded due to its uniqueness.
Chanderi silk- a handwoven fabric stronger and long-lasting than any power loom fabric, even so is as super fine as any fabric can get! Moreover it has a luxurious feel to it making Chanderi sarees a must-have for every saree enthusiast.
Handspun and handwoven fabric (Muslins) even today deemed as a symbol of Nationalism, carries a rich legacy of being an ideogram of dissent by Mahatma Gandhi against foreign fabrics ever since Indian freedom struggle. Looked upon as a profoundly pure fabric made out of local hand-spun cotton yarns, it is used to create finest clothing.
The gleam and elegance of ‘Tussar’ silk (also known as kosa silk) produced from silk worm’s larvae, is matchless! About 30,000 weavers work on 25,000 handlooms at silk weaving industry in Bhagalpur which is more than a century old. This silk is a popular additive to luxurious-feeling soaps.
Cotton handlooms for instance offer great comfort to the wearer, as the fabric breathes allowing excellent air circulation and absorbency.
- Fabrics produced out of Hand operated looms utilizes zero electricity, henceforth conserves energy.
- Indian handloom sector employs over 13 million weavers (directly or indirectly) thereby bestowing more than 15% of the country's fabric production, thus making it a convenient work-from-home business for many.
- Furthermore every state in India has its own story to tell about their beautiful heritage of handlooms varying from one another. There are about 470 handloom clusters spread across the country, out of which 20 handloom clusters have been chosen by the government for an integrated handloom cluster development scheme in order to sustain and escalate this sector.
Aug 7th observed as our national handloom day & #Iwearhandloom campaign started by Smriti Irani in 2016 was all to uplift this Industry. You can learn more about The evolution of handwoven fabric & its types in our next blog. Visit us at https://ffab.com/ and call or whatsapp us @+91 9650700711.
