Karvati Kinar Tussar Silk Saree : Sundari

This handwoven saree from Vidarbha, a north-eastern region in Maharastra, India, is all about the beautiful, intricate borders which are designed combining different coloured threads in various patterns. “Karvat” in Marathi is the saw and since the designs look like saw tooth, the saree is known as Karvati Kinar or Karvat Kati. District Bhandara is a Tussar cocoon producing area and thus having plenty of raw material, raw or natural Tussar was introduced in weaving of Karvati Kinar Sarees.

A Tussar Karvati Kinar Saree is woven with three shuttle weaving (tapestry type of weaving technique) to have solid colour border and body. The body is woven in cream coloured handspun raw Tussar yarn while the border is woven with mercerized cotton yarn. This saree is woven on pit looms mounted with Nagpuri wooden lattice dobby on the top of the loom above the weaver’s seat.
The uniqueness of the Tussar Karvati Kinar Saree is its border wherein traditional motifs are woven with extra warp threads controlled by lattice dobby and the saw tooth like temple motifs that are woven in varied sizes.

The karvati kinaar Saree from Vidarbha holds a geographical indicator (GI) tag. Each saree takes 8-12 days to weave based on the intricacies of the saree, and engages two artisans/weavers on both ends of warp, to create the “Karvati Kinar” borders . This saree is minimalistic in design and gives a very elegant look when draped.