Famous handloom works of Andhra Pradesh

Are you in the look out for the famous handloom sarees and dress materials of Andhra Pradesh? Go through this article which gives you a detailed description of the famous handlooms of the state.

Introduction

Indian handloom materials and sarees have earned world fame and as these are made of eco-friendly materials, the use of Indian handloom materials are gaining importance. Each geographical state of India is renowned in the production of its own handloom works, so also the state of Andhra Pradesh is well known for the production of various handloom materials at various places of the state. Andhra Pradesh is not only famous for its handloom works but also it is famous for its beautiful handicrafts which have earned world fame.

Handloom works of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is renowned for its hand-woven clothes since ancient times. The weavers of the state have expertise in producing the most exclusive hand woven sarees most of which have a gorgeous look, and they even produce dress-materials that have delicate and distinctive designs. The handloom sarees of Andhra Pradesh are well known for their rich 'pallous'. The borders of the sarees are adorned with thread work and mostly these threads are made of either gold or silver. Mostly these handloom works are named after the place where these are made. And each of these famous looms have their distinct style of weaving, distinct fabric and style of work on the fabric. Most of these handlooms produce fabric woven with natural silk and cotton. And in the recent past, the weavers have expertised in producing fabrics which is a fine blend of natural silk and cotton and these have been named as 'cotton silk' or 'sico'. Here is a list of some of the world famous handloom works of the state:

Pochampally

Pochampally is a small town in the Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh and this place is much popular for its weaving and producing traditional hand woven sarees and dress materials, particularly Pochampally is famous for its Ikkat style of tie and dye. The history of Pochampally sarees dates back to 1800 A.D.

The master craftsmen of Pochampally use fascinating techniques to develop threads that are dyed in beautiful colors. These threads are used the in weaving of fabrics to produce elegant silk sarees and cotton sarees. Besides sarees, the weavers even produce beautiful dress materials, curtains, upholstery, cushion covers, Ikkat durries, table covers, table mats, napkins and many more.

Dharmavaram

Dharmavaram which is a small town in the Anantapur District is well known for its rich handloom works / sarees. The silk sarees of Dharmavaram have earned world wide fame and these sarees have broad borders with solid colors that mostly contrast the body color. The wedding sarees of Dharmavaram are special and famous for their rich pallous that are woven with brocaded gold patterns to give a gorgeous look. The simple patterns of Dharmavaram sarees are made of a special combination of two color blends which give a muted double shades which are used for daily purpose.

Narayanapeta

Narayanapeta is a small town in the Mahabubnagar District of Andhra Pradesh. The place is well known for its handloom sarees and these saree look similar to the Ilkal and Solapur sarees of Maharashtra. These sarees have a layered or patti border with a broad pallou which is known as top-tenni pallou. For most of the sarees the pallou is woven in contrast colors that match the border. The top-tenni stripes of the pallous are woven in gold threads which give a gorgeous and rich look to the saree.

Uppada or Jamdani

Uppada is a small virgin town located on the beach in the east coast. The village is around 40 Km from Kakinada and is situated in the East Godavari District of the state. Though this is a small village, yet the place is world famous for its beautifully designed cotton sarees. The sarees are woven with a special technique of inter locking system in which each and every thread is interlocked to weave the designs of the body, border and pallou as well. Uppada sarees are good to wear for occasions.

Venkatagiri

Venkatagiri is a town in the Nellore District which was previous known as 'Kali Mili'. The place is located near Tirupati and besides famous for its cotton handloom sarees, the place has historical importance as well. These sarees are spun with fine cottons of 100 and 120 counts which have simple borders of gold thread and richly brocaded pallous.

Bandarulanka

This is a small village in the coastal 'Konaseema' region of East Godavari district and the hand woven sarees of this place have earned world fame. The artisans weave fine variety of cotton sarees in 80s count and these have find pattu borders and zari or cotton buta borders with rich pallous.

Bandar

Bandar hand woven sarees are world famous. Bandar is popularly known as Machilipatnam or Masulipatnam which is a city in the Krishna district. The Kalamkari art of the artisans on the fabrics is world famous. This is a technique of dye-painting on the fabrics with a pen-like tool. The artisans use eco-friendly natural vegetable colors for dyeing.

Mangalagiri

Mangalagiri is a small town in the Guntur District and it is almost a part of Vijayawada. The handloom works of this small temple town are popular across the globe and these mostly resemble the Maharashtrian style of sarees.

Gadwal

Gadwal is a small and ancient town in the Mahbubnagar District. The place under the name Gadwal Samsthanam was once upon a time ruled by a local ruler. The artisans of this place exhibit excellent skilled work to produce world famous Gadwal sarees most of which have broad and rich borders with gorgeous pallous. The weavers make sarees with cotton, natural silk and also with a fine blend of cotton and natural silk or the seico sarees. These sarees are mostly a choice of the elite society. The gorgeous sarees with a traditional look show the professional excellent having rich traditional values of the weaving techniques.

Chirala

Chirala is a coastal town in the Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh. Formerly Chirala was known by the name Kshirapuri as the sea looks milky white at this place. As the town gained popularity for its excellent handloom sarees, later it is named as Chirala and the word Chira in Telugu language means saree. The 7 yards sarees which fit into a match box is an example of the marvelous work and unmatched skill of the weavers of this areas which proves the excellent talent of the weavers of this area.

The weavers of this area produce ordinary cotton sarees, seico sarees which are a fine blend of cotton and silk fibres and Kuppadam or Gadwal type sarees.

Madhavaram

Madhavaram is a small village situated on the banks of river Penna in the Cuddapha / Kadapa district. Madhavaram sarees have petu border with jacquard or Zari pallous. Most of these sarees are brightly colored and these can be used for daily wear as well as occasional wear. The weavers of Madhavaram produce 6 yards sarees specially meant for the brides. Moduga Puvvu from the nearby forests are used to reddish border to the bridal sarees. Mostly, the weavers use vegetable colors for dyeing and thus contribute in saving the environment. Even Madhavaram Madhuparkams (the single wrap of dhoti and saree for the bride and bridegroom) are famous.