UPPADA SILK - A SPLENDID OUTCOME OF A WEAVING CRAFT

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Uppada silk is crafted using the jamdani weaving technique. The jamdani weaving style has a long and illustrious history and dates back over 300 years. The Maharajas of Pithapuram, Venkatagiri, and Bobbili encouraged Jamdani weaving and dreamt of making this weave popular across India.

  Developed in South India, Uppada silk is famous for its silk-like texture and lightweight. Created with a blend of viscose fibers, Uppada silk fabric is the most commonly used fabric among females .Uppada clothes are made by using a non-mechanical method.

Originating from the small beach town of Uppada in Andhra Pradesh, uppada silk is well known for its unique design.

Known for creating unique motifs, the Uppada weavers use hand weaving techniques to create light weight sarees filled with exquisite designs. These sarees are lighter than Kanjivaram and Dharamavaram sarees and this is because the weavers only use pure lace and zari.

 It takes about 10-60 days to weave a single saree when a couple of weavers spend nearly 10 hours each day in weaving. That itself tells a great deal about the handiwork that goes behind making these sarees.

 Each saree is an individual masterpiece because any slight alteration in the pattern can spoil the whole design of the saree. This makes the saree even more valuable and in demand. Every single motif is added to the saree by adding thick threads to fine warp threads; which makes this a painstaking process and requires a long time.

  Uppada  Sarees’ distinctive mark of excellence reflects in the way thick threads are combined with fine warp threads to create motifs that stand out and give the saree its unique identity. This art of traditional weaving has thus, also been declared as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.

The weaving technique of the Jamdani Uppada Saree involves etching each design as a blueprint on graph paper first and then placing it in the warp for weaving the patterns on the silk fabric for accuracy.

 Therefore, the Jamdani pattern of weaving is considered to be one of the most advanced styles of weaving. These sarees also feature pure gold and silver laces (zari) to boost the splendor of the outfit.

 The interweaving of threads, looming, adding the knots and preparing the border is a tiresome process and requires immense skill which makes the saree even more magnificent. 

Great skill goes behind weaving each uppada Saree as a thick weft is added depending on the design along with a thin one. This makes the design synonymous with both sides of the saree. This weaving pattern is laborious and time taking and therefore it makes the saree precious and the production volume low.

(This blogpost is  a part of BlogChatter's #BLOGCHATTERA2Z2023)