Impossiblyy: powerloom

Banarasi. The quintessential wedding trousseau in a large part of India. Made in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, these are amongst the finest silk sarees made in India. These feature intricate Mughal motifs and heavy zari work. They can be made in handlooms or in power looms. A handloom made saree typically takes about 3 weeks to make, whereas power looms churn out a saree a day. Naturally, handloom banarasi's are way more expensive than the power loom ones. Here we will explore the making of banarasi by both methods. The unfortunate part is that such gorgeous materials are woven in poorly lit, dingy, squalid conditions.

1) First, the design is made on a graph paper.

2) Next, an iron hole puncher such as the one shown here is taken.

3) This puncher is used to punch holes into cards according to the design on the graph

4) Next, the silk and zari threads that will be used to weave the saree are coiled around a large cylindrical structure. The video shows the coiling. In case the video doesn't play in the blog, click on the youtube link below it.

The threads that are used

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA_SQT8Bfbs&feature=youtu.be

5) Up to here the process is common for both handloom and powerloom. These punched cards and these threads are now attached to the respective looms and the weaving begins.

First we show the powerlooms. Look how the punched cards are attached to the top of the loom through which the threads are passed.