Bazaar & Bloom

Where the cloth comes from

Nine weaves, eight districts.

Each one is photographed flat at the same distance, so the wall reads as a comparison rather than a gallery.

Ilkal cotton woven flat — fine bronze warp stripes beside a deep red pallu banded in silver.IlkalIlkal, BagalkotA cotton body and a silk pallu, joined by a row of hand-tied loops.1 pieceChanderi silk-cotton in magenta, scattered with small gold butis above a woven gold border.ChanderiChanderi, AshoknagarSilk warp on a cotton weft, woven sheer enough to hold the light.2 piecesMaheshwari cloth in deep teal with fine woven stripes running into a narrow zari border.MaheshwariMaheshwar, KhargoneA border that reads the same from either side, so there is no wrong way round.2 piecesPochampally ikat in indigo, its stepped diamond motifs feathering where warp meets weft.PochampallyBhoodan Pochampally, Yadadri BhuvanagiriBoth threads are dyed before weaving, which is why every edge feathers.1 pieceKota doria showing its open khat square-check weave under a black and madder block print.Kota doriaKaithoon, KotaCotton and silk alternated into a square check that leaves the cloth transparent.3 piecesBagru hand-block cotton — rows of small violet and rose floral butis on an undyed ground.BagruBagru, JaipurSteeped in harda before a block ever touches it, which is where the buff ground comes from.3 piecesBagh hand-block print — dark paisley repeats on a cream ground between banded borders.BaghBagh, DharIron and alum, then the river — the washing is what fixes the black.1 pieceKanchipuram silk in peacock blue, a gold mango buti woven into the cloth.KanchipuramKanchipuram, Tamil NaduBody, border and pallu are woven apart, then locked together thread by thread.2 piecesBengal tant cotton in mustard, a woven gold border running along one edge.TantWest BengalBengal cotton, woven open and light — the one cloth that survives a wet June.1 piece
A pit loom part-way through a sari, the warp threads stretched under tension.

Why we name the district.

A weave name on its own is a style; a weave name with a district behind it is a claim someone can check. Every attribution here is checked against the Geographical Indications registry or NABARD’s craft documentation before it goes on the page.

Where we could not verify a cloth, it is not on this site. That is the whole policy.

See what is in stock