Garad Saree: Silk Sarees From West Bengal | Resham Shilpi

“Garad” silk is traditionally woven by Bengal weavers in the district of “Murshidabad”, in West Bengal. “Garad” means white and it is woven with de-gummed undyed silk yarn. Hence, Garad sarees are usually of the natural colour of mulberry silk.

Bengali women, generally, wear a Garad Saree in some festive occasion or during religious ceremony. Silk yarn used to weave Garad sarees is not dyed which keeps the purity factor of the fabric intact and therefore these sarees have a sacred importance to the women in Bengal. Tracing back the history, one would fine that the kings and zamindars in ancient times used to drape themselves in Garad clothes to perform religious ceremonies and rituals.

The traditional Bengali saree, Garad or Gorod is distinguished by a plain red border on a white or off-white silk body. Variations of the traditional Garad saree come with striped borders and fine motifs along the body. However, these days Garad sarees are being woven with dyed yarns also for providing some colour variations.

At present, the matter of granting Garad Saree the status of Geographical Indication (G.I) in India is under process.

Buy Shibori Sarees Online at Best Prices

The term “Shibori”   is simply the Japanese word 絞り, which translates as to wring or squeeze, and in the crudest term can be described as the traditional, Japanese incarnation of tie-dye.

Originating in China, “Shibori” dyeing became popular in Japan during Edo Period from the 17th – 19th centuries, as people from lower social classes then needed an alternative to the silk they were banned from wearing. However, the earliest examples of Shibori textiles date all the way back to the 8th century when Emperor Shomu, the 45th Emperor of Japan, included a piece of shibori dyed cloth in a collection of items donated to Nara’s Todai-ji Temple. As time progressed, new variations of the technique came into being. There are six standard traditional “Shibori” techniques:——KumoShibori, Miura Shibori, KanokoShibori, ArashiShibori, Nui Shibori and ItajimeShibori.

“Nui Shibori” is the most detailed of all the Shibori techniques and it is as much about stitching as it is about dyeing. Hand stitching techniques and wooden dowels are used to create resists and then the fabric is dyed, the outcome of which is carefully crafted intricate designs with accurate patterns.In Resham Shilpi, Shibori sarees are made with purest quality of tasar fabrics following the technique of “Nui Shibori”. The artisanal handcrafted quality of the process makes each saree an unique piece.