Pochampally sarees are the famous sarees of the state of Andhra Pradesh. Woven in Pochampally, a small town in the state and hence the name. Among the South Indian Sarees, this is one of the well known sarees because of its high quality fabric, beautiful ikat designs and durability and because of its unique colour combination. Pocahmpalli Sareees are woven in hand woven cotton and silk fabric and silk-cotton mixes. Pochampally ikats can be differentiated from their Orissa (ikat saree) by their look and feel. Pochampally fabric is smoother than the fabric used in Orissa's ikat and not quite as heavy.
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Pochampalli Sarees Weaving Process
There are about 5000 handloom weavers in Pochampally who create saris in traditional ikat work. The unique weaving pattern is that the ikat weaves involve the yarn being dyed first, with each strand dyed in terms of the final pattern that has been chosen. This means that everything has to be very precise and requires the skills of true artists. This method is very similar to the tie-and-dye method but here the yarn is dyed before weaving which makes the weaving procedure complex.
Pochampalli Sari Designs and Colours
Nowadays, the weavers use modern synthetic colorful threads instead of the expensive vegetable dyes for dying. This has reduced the cost of production of these sarees. The pochampally ikat-weavers were influenced by the patola designs of Gujarat. Modern ikats of Andhra Pradesh, are simple and elegant and use purely geometrical designs and at the most three colors. The saree has Ikat bands in the endpiece. The patterns of these sarees have undergone changes in modern times, with big, bold and bright patterns. Modern motifs with plenty of brilliant colours give a modern touch to these saris. The most modern Pochampalli Ikat designs are vibrantly coloured.
Demand for Pochampally Saree
The famous Pochampally saree has won Intellectual Property Rights protection. It is the first traditional Indian craft to receive this status of geographical branding. This will protect the pochampally saree from unfair competition and counterfeit. The Pochampally Indian sarees have a good market in India as well as abroad. The weavers are using modern synthetic colours and creating attractive designs that are typical of the saree tradition.
