Nashik Handloom Craft
Pilgrim-town cotton weaving on the Godavari, and the Yeola paithani looms of the district.
Nashik, the pilgrim city on the Godavari in Maharashtra, has a long cotton handloom tradition making sarees, dhotis, angavastrams, towels and shawls for the region and its pilgrims. Far more significant today is Yeola, a town in Nashik district that has become the largest centre for weaving the Paithani — the classic Maharashtrian silk saree with its oblique-interlock tapestry border and pallu — so that most 'Paithani' sarees sold are in fact woven at Yeola.
Craft at a Glance
Origin
Nashik, Maharashtra
Also Known As
Nashik handloom, Yeola Paithani (in the district), Godavari-belt weaving
Craft Type
Cotton handloom weaving and Paithani-style silk weaving
Practising Community
Koshti, Sali and other weaver communities; Yeola's paithani weavers, organised through cooperatives and master weavers
Materials
Cotton yarn for the Nashik cloth; pure mulberry silk and real or tested gold zari for the Yeola Paithani; and acid and natural dyes.
Known For
Cotton sarees, dhotis, towels and shawls, and the Yeola Paithani silk sarees woven in Nashik district
Where It's Made
Nashik city and, most importantly, Yeola town in Nashik district, Maharashtra
Time to Create
Days per cotton length; weeks to months per Yeola Paithani
GI Status
Paithani is a GI of Maharashtra (covering Yeola in this district); Nashik cotton weaving is not registered
Process Steps
Dyeing the yarn
Cotton or silk is dyed in solid colours; Paithani uses deep jewel tones and often a contrasting border colour.
Warping
The warp is laid for several sarees, with heavy border warps at the selvedges for a Paithani.
Sizing and beaming
The warp is sized and wound onto the loom beam.
Loom setting
For cotton, a fly-shuttle loom is drafted; for Paithani, the loom is set for hand tapestry weaving of border and pallu.
Weaving the body
The plain or bordered body is woven — quickly for cotton, more slowly for a silk Paithani.
Tapestry border and pallu (Paithani)
The Paithani border and pallu are woven by interlocking coloured and zari wefts around the warp by hand, building the motifs with small bobbins.
Finishing
The saree is cut from the loom, checked, and folded; a Paithani is issued with its GI documentation where applicable.
Technique Glossary
Paithani
The classic Maharashtrian silk saree with a hand-woven tapestry border and pallu, now mostly woven at Yeola.
Kadiyal
The oblique interlocking of border and body wefts around the warp, so the border cannot separate from the body.
Tapestry weave
A weft-faced technique in which coloured wefts are woven back and forth only within their own colour area to build a picture.
Mor (peacock) motif
The peacock, the signature Paithani pallu motif, alongside the lotus, parrot and coconut.
Fly-shuttle loom
A handloom with a shuttle propelled by a cord, used for the district's cotton weaving.
Zari
Metallic thread — gilded silver wire on a silk core — used in the Paithani border and pallu.
Angavastram
An unstitched shoulder cloth, a staple product of the Nashik cotton looms.
A Craft Through Time
Pre-modern
Pilgrim-town weaving
Nashik's cotton looms serve the temple city and the northern Deccan trade.
18th–19th century
Yeola takes up Paithani
Weavers at Yeola in Nashik district take up the Paithan silk tradition, by tradition under Peshwa-era patronage.
20th century
Yeola overtakes Paithan
As Paithan declines, Yeola scales up and becomes the main centre for weaving the Paithani saree.
Late 20th century
Cooperatives and master weavers
The Yeola trade is organised through societies and master weavers, and the Paithani gains a national bridal market.
2010s
Paithani GI
Paithani is registered as a GI of Maharashtra, covering Yeola's production.
Present
Cotton and silk
Nashik district weaves everyday cotton cloth and, at Yeola, the great majority of India's Paithani sarees.
Did You Know?
Most sarees sold as 'Paithani' today are not woven at Paithan at all but at Yeola in Nashik district, which overtook the original town as the tradition's main centre.
Every craft has a story. Every story begins with tradition.