Dharwad Cotton Handloom
Sturdy cotton yardage and khana blouse cloth from the northern Karnataka plateau.
The Dharwad and Hubballi region of northern Karnataka is a long-established cotton handloom belt, weaving sarees, dhotis, angavastrams, towels, bedsheets and the small figured blouse-cloth known as khana, which is worn with the Ilkal saree of the same region. The cloth is typically strong and plain or checked, with contrasting woven borders, and the belt is also a centre for khadi hand-spun cotton.
Craft at a Glance
Origin
Dharwad, Karnataka
Also Known As
Dharwad handloom, Hubli-Dharwad cotton, Kongu-Deccan cotton weaving
Craft Type
Cotton handloom weaving
Practising Community
Devanga, Kuruhinshetty and Togata weaver communities, organised through cooperatives and khadi institutions
Materials
Mill and hand-spun cotton yarn; art silk or a little zari for borders in some sarees; and natural and reactive dyes.
Known For
Cotton sarees, dhotis, towels and khana blouse-piece weaving of the Dharwad–Hubballi belt
Where It's Made
Dharwad, Hubballi, Gadag, Bagalkot and Betageri in northern Karnataka
Time to Create
Three to five days per saree or set
GI Status
Not separately registered; the region's Guledgudda Khana and Ilkal Saree are GI-tagged
Process Steps
Dyeing the yarn
Cotton yarn is dyed for grounds, borders and the contrasting motif threads of khana.
Warping and sizing
The warp is laid, starched and beamed, with border colours placed at the selvedges.
Drafting the loom
Warp ends are drawn through healds and reed; a dobby is rigged for borders, and a pattern harness for khana motifs.
Weaving sarees and dhotis
Bodies are woven in plain or check weave with woven borders on fly-shuttle looms.
Weaving khana
Blouse cloth is woven in a narrow width with small supplementary-warp motifs repeated in bands.
Weaving khadi
Where hand-spun yarn is used, plain khadi cloth is woven for garments and furnishing.
Cutting and finishing
Khana is cut into blouse pieces; sarees, dhotis and towels are checked, folded and sent to the cooperative.
Technique Glossary
Khana
A short length of figured cotton cloth woven specifically for saree blouses in the region.
Supplementary warp
Extra warp threads raised selectively to form a pattern in relief on the cloth.
Ilkal saree
The regional saree with which khana blouse cloth is traditionally paired.
Devanga
One of the principal weaver communities of the southern Deccan.
Angavastram
An unstitched shoulder cloth worn by men across South India.
Khadi
Hand-spun, hand-woven cotton cloth, promoted in the region by dedicated spinning and weaving institutions.
Dobby
A loom attachment that lifts groups of warp threads to weave small geometric borders and textures.
A Craft Through Time
Pre-colonial
Plateau weaving
Weaver communities on the cotton-growing plateau supply cloth to Deccan states and farming districts.
Colonial era
Administrative centre
Dharwad becomes a district headquarters and, later, a hub for handloom and khadi institutions.
20th century
Cooperatives and khadi
Weavers organise into societies; khana, bordered sarees and khadi become the mainstay.
Late 20th century
Power-loom competition
Power looms take much of the plain-cloth volume, and handloom weavers specialise.
Present
A handloom belt
The Dharwad–Hubballi looms continue to supply cotton cloth, khana and khadi across Karnataka.
Did You Know?
The little woven khana blouse-piece is treated as a garment unit in itself in northern Karnataka — shops sell it by the ready-cut piece, matched to the saree, not by the metre.
Every craft has a story. Every story begins with tradition.