A bright violet field worked allover in small gold buti.

Why this piece

Violet kept bright — the lighter reading of this colour, where the gold sits on the ground rather than glowing out of it.
Allover buti — the figures cover the whole field at an even interval, which is a busier body than the sparse-set pieces beside it.
Gold-tone borders — metallic work at both edges with horizontal stripes closing the pallu.

The colourway

Bright violet is the harder of the two purples to weave, because a lighter ground shows every variation in the beat. Covered allover in gold buti it reads as texture at a distance and as pattern up close, which is the whole trick of this design.

How it is woven

It comes off a loom in Mominpura, the weaving quarter inside Maheshwar. This is hand weaving in the plain sense of it: a pit loom, a weft inserted by hand, and a dobby setting the buti across the body and the figures in the border. The pattern is built as the cloth is built, not printed on later.

Small irregularities in the weave come with the method — a slub, a slightly uneven pick. They are the fingerprint of a hand-inserted weft, not a fault in a finished piece.

The border, and how it wears

The border is a bugdi border: the woven border design reads the same on both faces. Turn the edge over at the fall and the figures come up the same way.

The figures are ours, measured in-house: 350 to 360 g, 44 to 46 GSM. Light enough for warm weather and long wear, soft enough to pleat closely, and semi-sheer through the body, so wear it over a petticoat.

Specification

Total length: 6.3–6.5 m, including an 80–90 cm blouse piece
Width: 45–46 inches
Weight: 350–360 g, measured in-house
Fabric weight: 44–46 GSM
Body: semi-sheer; wear it with a petticoat
Drape: soft, holds its pleats, and stays soft after the first clean
Loom: pit loom, with the weft inserted by hand
Patterning: dobby-set, on body, border and pallu
Finishing: pallu kuchu, selvedge and edges finished; fall and pico on request
Woven in: Maheshwar, Khargone district, Madhya Pradesh
Country of origin: India
Net quantity: one saree with attached blouse piece
Care: Dry Clean Only

Care and storage

Professional dry clean only. Home washing is not recommended.
Air-dry in the shade, without wringing.
Iron inside out on a low-to-medium setting, under a cotton press cloth.
Store it wrapped in breathable cotton or muslin, in a cool dark cupboard.
Refold along fresh lines every three to six months.

Dispatch

This piece is held in stock rather than made to order, so hand weaving does not put you in a queue. About half of all orders leave the next day, most go within two to three days, and most orders inside India arrive in three to seven days.

A note on colour

This piece is a bright violet, worked allover in gold buti. Screens, camera settings and the light a photograph was taken in all move a shade a little, so the piece that reaches you may sit slightly away from the image on this page. Every colour in this range has been tested for fastness on wash and rub.

Product details

Country of origin: India. Net quantity: one saree with attached blouse piece. Care: Dry Clean Only.

Bright Violet Pure Handloom Maheshwari Silk Saree, Allover Gold Buti | Phulwari