The Chanderi saree from Madhya Pradesh is light and meant for Indian summers. It is produced in a small town called Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh.
Chanderi Sarees are products of delicate weaves and subtle design that come off the looms in Chanderi, near Gwalior. Chanderi is famous for weaving extremely fine zari band (patti) right up to the selvedge edge. Motifs are drawn from all around - hunting scenes, trees, man, woman, birds, fruits, flowers, and heavenly bodies.
Chanderi sarees are very light and ideal for Indian summers. Its beauty lies in its simplicity, airy feel, narrow borders and decently designed anchals with buttis. The Chanderi sarees give a sophisticated look to whoever who wears it.
These sarees have a special shimmer in the cotton with an elegant and delicate gold thread that is used in the borders and for the motifs. One who has a lot of knowledge about sarees sees the quality of the thread that is used. The name chanderi has been given to these sarees after the weavers town who gives these flamboyant sarees.
The best part of the chanderi sarees is the harmony that it maintains between the body and the border of the saree. The most common combination that can be found is the off white color on the body and the various colors on the border.
Types of Chanderi Sari:
Narrow border: These are the plain sarees having a very narrow border of complementary-warp zari and an endpiece containing a few narrow zari bands, or one single, wider band.
Broader border: These are the sarees with broader borders woven in supplementary warp zari with coloured supplementary-warp silk embellishments, woven into small repeat floral or geometrical designs. The endpiece consisted of the border elements repeated twice as two parallel bands, often with narrow woven lines and many buti woven between them.
Wide border: The third type called do-chashmee (two streams) is no longer made but had wide borders with brightly coloured supplementary- warp silk in a satin weave upon which were supplementary bands of white geometric patterns. In some sarees the borders were reversible.
Fabric in Chanderi Sarees: The Chanderi sari is woven in cotton as well as silk. Chanderi silk from India is the result of traditional methods of hand-weaving that have been developed over the centuries, and passed down through generations. Chanderi silk is considered the fabric of choice for sarees produced for royalty, due to its light-weight quality and intricate designs.
Colours and Design : These sarees are a rare fusion of soft & contrasting colors.
The plain cotton ones are with borders and have stripes and floral patterns.
There are also ones which have butis on the body of the saree as well.
Silk sarees are woven with zari borders and have zari and thread work all through the length of sari, giving it an elegant and dazzling look.
Chanderi sari is known for soft colors and the harmonious balance between the border and the body of the saree.
These sarees are also known for their contrasting colors and the depiction of animal and human figures on them and patterns taken from the Chanderi temples.
Special Features:
The sarees are made in silk or fine cotton with patterns taken from Chanderi Temples.
The magic of a Chanderi Saree lies in its thread, its warp and its weft. The distinguishing attribute of the Chanderi Saree is the quality of gold thread that is used to ornate it. Traditional weavers of Chanderi used silk as warp and cotton as weft to make this magnificent creation.
Chanderi Sarees are occasionally considered to be a little more flamboyant than the Kanjeevaram Sarees. Though, compared to the bright contrasting colours favoured by the Kanjeevaram, the Chanderi sarees prefer a harmony between the colours of the body and the border. Of course timeless contrasting combinations like black and red and the Ganga-Jamuna (off-white body with one green and one red border) are also available.
Chanderi Sarees favour subtle shades. They have a rich gold border and two gold bands on the pallav. Sometimes they have golden checks with buttis all over. Chanderi designs draw heavily from nature and so hunting scenes, the tree of life, men, women, birds, fruits, flowers and heavenly bodies are frequent motifs on these sarees.
Chanderi Sarees are also famous for weaving the Piping Kinar. The Piping Kinar is an extremely fine zari band woven right up to the selvedge edge of the sari.
