Chanderi Art And Craft Guide

Chanderi is renowned for its most exquisite product: the gossamer thin Chanderi sari that has been woven here for centuries. The greater part of the town’s population is part of the weaver community and work at producing the Chanderi fabric known for its traditional motifs and fragile pastel colours.
Over the years Chanderi saris have undergone many changes. The handspun yarn, which gave the fabric its gossamer quality, has been replaced by imported silk in the warp and by mill-made cotton thread or unboiled silk in the weft.
The latter makes for more sheen but reduces durability as the rough silk cuts through the warp easily. This substitution has led to deterioration in the quality.
Apart from weaving, traditional crafts include bamboo weaving, stone cutting and pottery. Bamboo weaving and bidi (an indigenous version of the cigarette made by rolling tobacco into a dry leaf and tying it with a thread) making are the major occupations of Chanderi after weaving.