Tana & Pallu — handloom sarees from Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Bengal and Pochampally

Weaving regions

Where it was woven

Every sari comes from one of four weaving regions, each with its own loom, yarn and way of making a border. Choose one to see what is on its looms.

Places on the map are approximate.

The sarees

Off the loom

Twelve sarees, three from each region. Hover a photograph for a close-up of the weave, or tap the round swatch to see it on the loom.

12Every region

VaranasiNo. 01

Aubergine Katan Banarasi

Katan silk · zari border · 6.3 m with blouse piece

A deep aubergine silk with a broad gold border and a pallu of small butas. Woven on a pit loom in Madanpura, the zari laid in pick by pick.

₹18,400

VaranasiNo. 02

Midnight Kadhua Buti

Katan silk · kadhua butis · 6.3 m

Navy silk where every buti is woven in on its own, by hand, so the back is as clean as the front. Slow work: about a month on the loom.

₹24,600

VaranasiNo. 03

Plum Jangla Organza

Kora organza · jangla jaal · 6.2 m

A crisp plum organza with a creeper jaal running the whole length. Light enough for a summer wedding, stiff enough to hold its pleats.

₹15,800

KanchipuramNo. 04

Peacock Korvai Kanjivaram

Mulberry silk · korvai border · 6.2 m

Peacock green with a contrast border woven separately and interlocked at every pick — the korvai join you can find with a fingertip.

₹32,500

KanchipuramNo. 05

Peach Silver-Zari Kanjivaram

Mulberry silk · silver zari · 6.2 m

A soft peach body, heavy in the hand, with a temple border in silver zari. The kind of sari that is handed down.

₹27,900

KanchipuramNo. 06

Gold Tissue Kanjivaram

Tissue silk · gold zari · 6.2 m

Gold zari woven through the weft so the whole sari catches light like brass. Cream and saffron at the border, a full brocade pallu.

₹38,000

BengalNo. 07

Mint Dhakai Jamdani

Fine cotton · jamdani motifs · 5.5 m

Mint cotton so fine it is almost a mist, the jamdani flowers inlaid by hand with a bamboo needle as the cloth grows.

₹14,200

BengalNo. 08

Lemon Tant with Ganga Border

Tant cotton · 5.5 m

An everyday Shantipur tant in cream and lemon, starched crisp, with a yellow border named for the river. Gets softer every wash.

₹4,800

BengalNo. 09

Sindoor Begumpuri

Cotton · striped border · 5.5 m

Sindoor red and saffron, a tight weave and a striped border. A cotton for festivals that you can still wear on the train home.

₹5,600

PochampallyNo. 10

Teal Telia Rumal Ikat

Double ikat cotton · 6 m

The yarn is tied and dyed before it ever meets the loom, so the pattern blurs softly at its edges. Teal body, a tan and black pallu.

₹12,900

PochampallyNo. 11

Rani & Black Silk Ikat

Silk ikat · 6.2 m

Rani pink against black, with an ikat border that steps like a staircase. Every diamond lines up only because the warp and weft were dyed together.

₹19,500

PochampallyNo. 12

Bottle-green Pochampally Cotton

Cotton ikat · 6 m

Bottle green with scattered white motifs and a border of interlocking triangles. Light, cool and made for long days.

₹6,900

From yarn to sari

Four steps, many weeks

A handloom sari is made by hand from the yarn up. This is how one of ours reaches you.

01
Dye
Silk and cotton yarn is dyed in small batches. For ikat it is tied first, so the pattern lives in the thread itself.
02
Warp
Thousands of ends are stretched and threaded through the heddles one by one. Setting up the loom can take a week.
03
Weave
The shuttle crosses, the reed beats it home, and the pattern grows a line at a time — butis, border and finally the pallu.
04
Finish
Cut from the loom, checked thread by thread, the loose ends knotted and the sari folded in mul cotton for the journey.

Care

Made to be worn, and kept

From the people who wear them

Visit the house

Come and touch the cloth

Our house in Kamachha has every sari on this page and a few more. Come by appointment and we will unfold them for you, or write to us about a wedding, a trousseau or a colour you cannot find.

Email: preview@example.com
Instagram: See what is on the loom

Woven one pick at a time.