Weft ikat sari with warp

ikat and brocade borders,

from sambalpur district
orissa
Preparing the yarn for dyeing by resist binding, Barpali, Orissa
Production clusters
Prakasam district Chirala
Nalgonda district Puttapaka
Koyalagudem
Choutupal
Produts Double and single squared rumal
Sari draped cloth
Dupatta veils
Tools Maggam loom
Achhu healds
Panni reed
Aasu warping frame
Chitkipita weft ikat frame
Kami throw shuttle
Nadi fly shuttle
Raatnam yarn winder
The telia rumal, chowka, square, asia rumal, indicate the cloth
with patterns created by an exacting process of tying and dyeing
the threads prior to weaving.

Telia is derived from the use of tel, oil, that is used to soften the
yarn in preparation for dyeing, and rumal means a handkercheif.

Most evidence suggests that ikat weaving began in the late 19
th

century, when most of the original textiles were large scarves
(rumal) made for export to Arabia.


The cotton cloths measuring 44 x 44 inches were expoterd to
Myanmar, West Asia and East Africa.

The fishermen in Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh used them as
lungi (loin cloth), turban or shoulder cloths.

The telia rumal has a square format enclosed by red broad
borders.

Within this concentric structure, are featured geometric and
figurative designs in single and double ikat techniques in
black, red and white.
The warp and weft yarns were dyed in natural madder that was
later replaced with alizarin dye.

After dyeing, the yarns were treated in oil to give them a deeper
shade of red thus imparting an oily texture and smell.

Telia rumal are woven in pairs.

The rectangular telia dupatta was used as a veil by muslim women
and a multipurpose cloth by men.

Telia rumal has been the mainstay of Ikat in Andhra.

Having originated in Chirala, the skills spread to Nalgonda
district where ikat weaving is more vibrant than in Chirala.

The festival of India exhibitions and design interventions
restored the artistry of telia rumal and enlarged the vocabulary
of ikat weaving in the region.

Double ikat cotton rumal (cover or kerchief) made at puttapaka
village, near Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Telia rumal double ikat cloths from Puttapaka village, near Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
A mordern interpretation of telia rumal developed for a sari. The
sari is predominantly white with coloured borders and a pallu or
cross border with squares based on the telia rumal traditions
Telia rumal with a geometrical pattern woven with ikat or tie-resist-
dyed warp and weft.
Telia rumal with a chaupad or dice game design woven with double ikat
and single ikat used in the field.
The inner square of the telia rumal with contemporary motifs such as
clocks, birds and flowers.
Telia rumal, 44 x 44 in size, with a pattern formed by tie-resist
dyed warp and weft stripes
Rumal with motifs of mathikai, a local fruit, and mallipu
or jasmine.
Production clusters
Nalgonda district Pochampalli
Koyalagudem
Puttapaka
Gatuppal
Chautupal
Prakasam district Chirala
Products Sari
Dupatta stoles
Yardage
Furnishings
Bedcovers
Tools Maggam loom
Panni reed
Acchu heald shaft
Chitkaasu weft ikat frame
Thread
Rubber tubing
Pochampalli Ikats

In Andhra Pradesh, cloth patterned by tie-resist-dyed yarns is
known as paagadu bandhu, chitki, chit-ku and more popularly
by the Indonesian term ikat.

While the tie-dyed yarn is katak-buti.

Ikat was initially woven in Chirala, a coastal town in Prakasam
district, which had a flourishing market in the 19
th
century for
telia rumal or square cotton cloths produced for the Arab market
and exported to the Middle East, Africa and Burma.

These were used as loincloths by fishermen in Mumbai.
By the 1970s, pochampallis ikat sari industry had mushroomed.

An increase in demand from export markets helped spread the
technique to Pochampalli and the neighbouring villages of
Koyalagudem, Puttupaka and Chautupal who later diversified to
produce sari, yardage and furnishings.

Over a period of time each village developed a specialization:
Pochampalli in silk saris of both single and double ikat,
Puttapaka in fine cotton and silk saris and yardages, Gatuppal,
Chautupal and Koyalagudem in cotton and silk yardage for
furnishing and shirting.

Ingenious technology such as the chitkaasu, a curved frame with
pegs on which the weft threads are grouped and tied for dyeing,
has sustained production.

Weaving is a full time activity, often the entire family being
involved in the craft.

Simple geometric designs, multi-colored patterns, stripes and
chevron forms are dominant patterns.

Other influences include Gujarat patola, ikat patterns from
Orissa, Japan and Guatemala (South America) introduced by
exporters and trade.

The most significant impetus has come from the festival of India
programmes (1982-1992), which revitalized the weaving craft.

Marking out the weft threads for tying before dyeing
in Pochampalli, Andhra Pradesh
Prepared
yarn on
dyeing
frame, in
Pochampalli,
Andhra
Pradesh
The majority of Pochampalli ikats are vibrantly coloured,
however, and although there is wide range of mordern designs,
most still follow the rumal layout with wide plain borders, one or
two plain bands marking the endpiece, and a field covered with
ikat created designs.

Historically, Andhra Pradeshs ikat saris appear to have closer
ties with Gujarat than Orissa.

Two brothers from one of the original rumal-weaving families in
Chirala are believed to have trained in Gujarat in the early years
of the twentieth century, and today the Pochampalli and Chirala
areas specialize in creating imitation patolu saris.

Some of these imitations are very close to the originals although
the weaving is often less fine.
The characteristic patolu motifs are often interspersed within the
rumal format, leading to the typical patolu elephants (enuga),
parrots (ciluka), dancing girls (annu) and flowers (poovu) being
placed within the geometric grid of the rumal-style field.

Other imitation patola have purely geometric forms within the field,
something not seen in the traditional gujarati versions.

Most of these imitation patolu also have ikat borders and endpieces
which are usually less complex than the multiple bands found in the
originals.

They are woven in silk, cotton and silk-cotton mixes, and, as might
be expected, are very popular in Gujarat also

Sold in urban centres; and like the older rumal trade goods, its ikat
saris are primarily made for export out of state rather than for local
markets.
Detail of single ikat silk sari, prabablly from Pochampalli, Andhra Pradesh