Ilkal Saree

Back ground

Ilkal is a medium-sized town 60 km away from Bagalkot in Karnataka. It is an ancient weaving centre. Weaving seems to have started in the 8th century AD. The growth of these sarees is attributed to the patronage provided by the local chieftains in and around the town Bellary. The major item manufactured is Ilkalsaree; There are two types of Ikal sarees-one is made with silk warp and cotton weft and the other is made with silk both in warp and weft.

Material used

The saree is either made of mixture of cotton and silk or in pure silk. The colours traditionally used are Pomegranate red, brilliant peacock green and parrot green. The sarees that are made for bridal wear are made of particular colour called Girikumukum which is associated with the sindhoor used by the wives of the priests in this region.

Technique applied

The peculiar characteristic of the saree is joining the body warp with the pallu warp, which is locally called as TOPE TENI. The technique is used exclusively at Ilkal. Warp threads for body, border and pallu are prepared separately. The colour of Border and Pallu warp will be the same whereas body warp colour will be contrast to the colour of border and pallu. The saree is woven on traditional pit / frame loom fitted with dobby / jacquard.

How to distinguish genuine IlkalSaree

• The uniqueness of saree is joining the body warp with pallu warp with a series of loops locally called as TOP TENI technique, which is noticed in the back side of the saree.
• KONDI technique is used for getting solid coloured border using 3 shuttles. The border of the saree is very generally broad (4 to 6 inches).
• In the body of the saree, there are coloured stripes and checks, but not in the pallu.
• Generally, the traditional colour of the sari is Red / Green / Yellow and the patterns in the pallu are woven in white colour.

Source : India Handloom Brand