The handloom quest

We are not sure why handmade, artisanal textiles intimidate even the most seasoned shoppers. To mark National Handloom Day, here’s a handy guide for you to know and shop handlooms like a pro

How do I ensure what I am buying online is 100 per cent handloom?
According to the Ministry of Textiles, which tweaked the definition of handloom in 2014, a product made on any loom other than a power loom on which at least one process for weaving requires manual intervention or human energy for production, can be called handloom. Simple markers can help you identify a genuine handloom product that’s handmade in India. Look out for the Handloom Mark, a government of India initiative that serves as a guarantee for the buyer. “Just like you’d read a nutritional information label on a good product, you should cross check what’s involved in the making of the handloom product,” says Iti Tyagi, founder, Craft Village and India Craft Week. 

Research the handloom marketplaces online, check if the brand has a site and social media presence. The young, indie startups that stress on artisan products and genuine craftsmanship will enthusiastically share data on weaver clusters and sourcing of materials. The technologically advanced ones use QR coding. A simple scan of the label can tell you all you need to know about the product, its origin, its manufacture journey and even take you to the home of its karigar. If buying from a brick-and-mortar shop, turn the fabric over, suggests social entrepreneur Umang Sridhar. She says, “When buying extra weft fabrics like Banarasi brocade, Maheshwari, Chanderi or Kanjeevaram, see if the threads on the underside are neat. With regular yardages like cotton, look at the selvedge. If it is hand woven, the edges will be uneven, giving away the beauty of human intervention.” 

For a handloom novice, the easiest option is to buy from long established ethical platforms like GoCoop, iTokri, Dastkar, Co-optex, Paramparik Karigar, Rehwa Society, Vimor and Antaran Artisan Connect.  

A model wearing Jetul, a Khadi denim jeans from The Summer House. It is handmade by weavers at Udyog Bharati, a KVIC-approved Gondol-based co-operative that provides employment to nearly 1,000 families across 14 districts of Gujarat. “Our dye-free denim is crafted from organic cotton sourced from GOTS certified units,” says Shivangini Parihar, co-founder, TSH 

I’m not into ethic wear. How can I support handlooms?
A newfound interest in sustainability, and consuming local products post-pandemic has spurred a greater interest in handlooms. The home front is also where most of us are spending much of our time. You could be a Western wear lover but your home could wear a piece or two that celebrates Indian craftsmanship. Those who like heritage with their novelty can consider indigenous textiles beautifully fitted into placemats, coasters, napkins, towels, cushion covers, bedspreads, spreads—best at Tktkishkinda.org, Nilajaipur.com, Kandu.in, Vrittidesigns.com, Heirloomnaga.com, Gangamaki.com. 

India Craft Week, which curates products made by master craftspeople, features intricate Chamba rumal embroidery by Lalita Vakil. Chamba rumal traditionally uses a double satin stitch on muslin that’s native to Himachal, but Vakil has developed patterns in silk, tussar and voile. Both faces of the cloth are concurrently stitched by a forward and backward technique to maintain uniformity of design inside out. 

India Craft Week, a website for curated heritage products, features an intricate Chamba rumal ((handkerchief) embroidery depicting the Raasleela dance. It took almost four months for its maker, the needlework expert Lalita Vakil to complete this unique craft technique, once patronized by the royalty of Himachal Pradesh

How do I tell apart khadi, handloom cloth and mill-spun cloth?
Khadi refers to a textile made from desi fibre that is indigenous to India and grown organically, is hand spun and hand woven. In short, every stage of its making right from removal of seeds, ginning or separating the fibres, slivering, a method of carding and combing to spinning and weaving is entirely hand-done. Handloom cloth, on the other hand, needs to employ just one manual process in its entire manufacturing journey to be able to earn the handloom tag. 
Firstly, when buying khadi, look for the KVIC (The Khadi and Village Industries Commission) logo. It’s a government guarantee. You can also hold up the fabric to light. If it’s light and transparent, it’s most likely khadi. Semi-opacity may mean handloom, and a smooth, uniform finish with full opacity usually signifies machine cloth. 

Judging fabrics comes with practice, but start by asking questions. Quiz the shop attendant about where they source their textiles from. “In the case of organic cotton, ask for a GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certificate,” suggests Shivangini Parihar of The Summer House. 

“Khadi is not a fabric category. It can be cotton but even silk and wool. It is a process; slow and handcrafted,” explains Umang Sridhar. While originally all khadi was woven on a haath charkha, now the use of the ambar charkha with slight mechanisation to improve speed and productivity is accepted within the khadi-making practice.  

Evolved and ethical brands will offer information on their website specific to each product (nicely done at worldofcrow.com, raasleela.co.in, yali.store), outlining whether it’s made from organic material, is hand-spun, or hand-woven, uses natural dyes, azo-free dyes or chemical dyes. The more the boxes a product ticks, the higher its place in the sustainability and authenticity chain. 

What’s the most ethical thing I can do in fashion this season?
Wear denim, but make sure it’s hand spun and hand woven. Jeans are usually made from non-organic, non-sustainable cotton, which leads to use of pesticides and a titanic waste of water. Apart from creating a dye-free line of 100 per cent handcrafted denim, The Summer House label stocks recycled denim, made in partnership with a NGO in Karnataka. The process eliminates use of electricity, and consists of 80 per cent cotton—sourced from fabric scraps and discarded clothes—and 20 per cent polyester fibres made out of reprocessed plastic bottles. Totally handmade, totally worth a look. 

Handloomdenim.com offers fabric by the metre, and garments made from handloom selvedge denim. The dyes used are vegetable based; think onion skin and pomegranate rind. 
 
The fashion editor’s Best Buy?
Raise your hand if you are not fully hooked on knits after watching Tom Daley and his cute little pouch to keep his Tokyo Olympics gold medal safe? Daley’s Instagram says he took up the craft during the pandemic. NID textile design graduates Vasanthi Veluri and Abhinav Dhoundiyal of Peoli have collaborated with local farming communities of Almora in Uttarakhand to imagine vibrant knitwear and yarns in varied textures.The brand’s eco credentials come from locally grown raw materials like Harsil wool, Tibetan wool, nettle and hemp, and natural dyes like walnut and rhododendron flowers.
 
What colour should I sport?
Indigo. Extracted from the Indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria that thrives in tropical climate), it’s made by fermenting the leaves with an enzyme, and allowing the air to oxidise it into pigment. “It [Indigo-dye] involves complex molecular science. Maintaining the vat itself is half the battle won; it requires constant monitoring and calibrated addition of chuna [lime] to maintain pH level,” says Chinar Farooqui of Injiri. 

The Jaipur-based textile designer celebrates the “colour of calmness” in her summer collection, Neel, produced in collaboration with Shamji Vankar Vishram Valji, a master craftsman from Kutch. “Indigo is extremely visual,” says Farooqui. “I haven’t met anyone who dislikes this natural hue. It’s not too dull or bright.”

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