paithni

1. Paithani and
Pitambari

2. Known the world over as a poem of hand woven
sareeein silk and gold. Paithani and Pitambari sarees
are for those with discerning and refined taste. It is a
beautiful saree after the village called Paithan in
Aurangabad district of Maharastra. Paithani is the
gauze like sari woven as heavy gold brocade. The
uniqueness is its inverse of the usual brocading
practice, that is metal zari threads on warp direction for
background and pattern details are made of silk weft.

3. Places of Production
The Paithani sarees are mostly woven in Paithan in Maharashtra. Yeola,
Pune, Nasik and Malegaon in Maharashtra are the other centers where weaving
of Paithani sarees is undertaken.
Products
The original Paithani is a rich brocade saree used by the ladies. Pitambars
are bright coloured silks, five yards in length with gold borders on them. These
are worn by men specially when performing any of the religious rituals.

4. Yarns
As per the weaving specialty gold/silver zari yarn is used as warp and
silk yarn as weft.
Motifs
Though modern-day weavers are trying to develop newer and innovative
motifs, generally traditional motifs are used in Paithani sarees. The most commonly
used motifs in the body of these sarees are ‘kamal’ (lotus flower), ‘hans’ (swan),
‘asharfi’ (coin), ‘asawalli’ (flowering vine), ‘Bangadi mor’ (peacock in bangle),
‘rui phool’ (cotton flower), circles, stars and clusters of leaves. In the pallu
certain motifs are very commonly found. Some of them are ‘Asawali’, ‘Panja’
(a flower in a geometrical shape), ‘Muthada’ (a geometrical shape), and ‘mor’
(peacock).

5. Colour Combinations
The borders and pallu have striking designs in bright and showy colours
such as moss green, canary yellow, bright pink. The designs are worked in silks
of blue, red and white colours, on the field of pure transulant gold/silver zari.
The whole effect is gorgeous and is eminently artistic in its perfect harmony.
Loom and Weaving Technique
Setting up the loom is a meticulous job of careful handling where each
thread is mounted to bring out the design, colour and details to convert these
into a fabulous fabric. Ancient technique of tapestry weaving using three separate
shuttles for weft threads is used here. This loom is called Kadiyal and the fabric
is called as Kadiyal Paithani. The weavers use the method of interlocking of
more than one weft with base cloth. Weaving could take between 18 to 24 months,
depending upon the
complexity of the design. Today there are many weavers who are working for
the revival of this treasured weave.

6. Tapestry Loom used for Weaving Paithani Saree
Cost
Depending upon the intricacy of the designs and weaving technique the
Paithani saree price range starts from Rs. 5,000, (single shuttle)10,000 (three
shuttles) and so on.