A deep purple field carrying small gold buti from one end to the other.

Why this piece

Purple at full depth — one colour carried the whole length with nothing to interrupt it, which is the version of this design that shows the weaving most.
Flower buti — small woven figures repeating sparsely across the body and gathering through the pallu, dobby-set on the loom rather than applied to the surface.
Wide metallic borders — gold runs broad at the edge and the pallu closes in horizontal stripes, with a zari grid worked across the field.

The colourway

Purple is among the longest colours to arrive at and among the hardest to hold steady, because any drift shows as a band across the drape. Held even, as it is here, it carries gold better than almost any other ground.

How it is woven

The Handloom Mark is held on record against these pieces. Woven on a pit loom with the weft inserted by hand. The buti scattered over the body and the figures in the border are dobby-set on the loom itself, on body, border and pallu.

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.

350 to 360 g of cloth at 44 to 46 GSM. It falls close to the body, takes a deep pleat and keeps it, and reads semi-sheer through the body — a petticoat is part of wearing it.

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 deep purple, bordered in wide gold. 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.

Deep Purple Pure Handloom Maheshwari Silk Saree, Buta Body & Gold Zari Border | Phulwari