Our country India is vibrant with a multitude of cultures, techniques and tools that make up the soul of Indian fashion, one such culmination is the Sambalpuri Ikat Saree (also known as Sadhi).It truly embodies the spirit of rural India, being locally produced in the Sambalpur, Balangir, Bargarh, Boudh and Sonepur districts of Odisha. Traditionally a female garment, Sambalpuri Ikat is normally a 4 to 9 meters yard long garment that can be worn and styled in different ways, and are flexible enough for you to give a personalised touch to it.
Sambalpuri Ikat was originally produced by the people of rural Western Odisha, which was known as Sambalpur and that is how it gets its name. Even though designers today call it Sambalpuri Ikat, traditional artisan communities stick to calling the craft ‘Bandha’ which when translated, means ‘to tie’.
You must be aware of synthetic tie dye clothing today, but Sambalpuri Sarees have a long history with tie dye. The Bandha fabric is created using a tie dye technique. Once the colour sets it, these sarees can never be bleached into another colour, which shows how strong our traditional rural techniques of tie dying are as compared to the westernized modern version of the same.
Each Sambalpuri Ikat saree tells a unique story. Artisans use Bandha to depict various geometric patterns, flora and fauna, flower pods, portraits and landscapes. A mesmerizing detail about Sambalpuri Ikat sarees are that the designs are almost identical on both sides, and this all happens by hand, not machines! Sambalpuri Ikat sarees also display animal motifs such as deers, elephants, ducks, lions, as well as temple motifs and the Konark wheel.
Sambalpuri Ikat sarees are simply a display of human creative genius. https://www.nirguna.in/products/sambalpuri-handloom-ikat-silk-saree-10#desc-bookmark
Geometric Patterns on Nirguna’s Sambalpuri Ikat Saree
https://www.nirguna.in/products/sambalpuri-handloom-ikat-cotton-saree-25
The famous Sambalpuri Sarees are found in the Rengali Cluster of Western Odisha. There are many more villages that contain bhulia (weaver) families such as Sagarpali, Barpali, Tarbha, Bijepur, Patnagarh and Bargarh.
1)Raw Yarn Degumming
Degumming improves the texture,lusture and colour of the silk. It is the process of removing sericin, which is a sticky substance produced by silk worms, which does the job of holding the silk strands together.
2)Dyeing/Coloring
Sambalpuri Ikat Sarees were orginally made using natural colours from leafs,fruits,stems,roots. Mud was used to produce Brown Colour, Teak Wood was used to produce Red Colour, and Mango Nut for Black Colour.
3)Wrapping/Weft
Weft is the term for the crosswise yarn which is shuttled back and forth across the warp to create a woven fabric.
Wrap is the term for the lengthwise yarns stretched in place on a loom before the weft is introduced during the weaving process.
These two processes created a pattern on the fabric.
4)Weaving
Weaving is the process in which two distinct yarns are interlocked to form a fabric or cloth.
And voila, you now have a unique, distinct Sambalpuri saree that is made with century old techniques and careful consideration of all the artisans.
Handloom sarees are incomparable!
Here at Nirguna, we believe in promoting Rural livelihoods and reviving lost traditions through the products on our websites. Our Sambalpuri Ikat Silk and Cotton sarees are one of a kind, and every piece is made uniquely by the weaver. So, when you wear this saree, you not only wear a piece of fabric, you wear centuries worth of tradition. The beauty lies in the fact that that these sarees are theme-based and suitable for casual as well as festive occasions
Shop Nirguna’s exclusive Sambalpuri Bandha Ikat Silk or Cotton Sarees only at https://www.nirguna.in/categories/bandha-ikat-of-odisha
