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Anchal - the endpiece of the sari. It is usually more
densely ornamented than the field in matching or contrasting
color.
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Bhutta - areas of threadwork ornament suspended on a plain
ground, usually put in a regular order and often times becoming
more dense towards the endpiece.
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Block print - stamping the material with ink. The blocks
are generally hand carved from wood and printed on the cloth in
repeating patterns.
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Blouse piece - traditionally the sari is worn with a
matching or contrasting blouse called a choli. Many sarees come
with an extra length of cloth used to stitch the skin tight
cropped top.
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Bengali drape - a beautiful traditional way of wrapping a
sari in West Bengal. There are only two large pleats in front and
the fabric is folded in half and thrown over the shoulder twice
for a beautiful and rich look, perfect for a transparent jamdani
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Border - the sari usually has borders along the top and
bottom lengths of the cloth. The borders are a main design element
when wearing the sari and come in an astounding variety of
patterns and motifs.
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Check - one of the simplest and most elegant ways of
patterning plain weave cloth. Simple checks are formed with a
second color thread at regular intervals on the ground. Micro
checks give the fabric a shot woven glow, with only a few threads
between the check spacing. Complex checks can be formed by combing
warp and weft color repeats for amazing variety.
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Chikankari - the simple running stitch embroidery made
famous in Lucknow. The cloth is usually white or some pastel color
with white embroidery. The base fabric is a light weight organdy
type.
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China silk - lightweight, durable and drapey material
imported to India from China. Used as a base cloth for many
inexpensive printed and dyed sarees.
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Choli - the tight, cropped top worn under the sari. The
choli can be stitched from matching or contrasting cloth,
sometimes attached to the sari for this purpose.
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Contrast pallu - the endpiece ornament is woven on a ground
of contrasting color to the field. A very common and dramatic
look.
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Das phulia - means "ten flowers" - a typical
design found on Orissa ikat and bomkai sarees.
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Dhoti - a 4 to 5 meter lenghth of cloth, usually white or
cream with a narrow border. The dhoti is worn by men all over
India in several draping styles. The North Indian dhoti is longer
and is worn in the kaccha style, the south Indian dhoti is 4
meters and is worn folded in half and then wrapped kind of like a
bathtowel around the waist.
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Doria - a kind of open weave cloth that has a subtle check
effect formed by regular interspacing of finer and thicker threads
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End piece - also called anchal and pallu. the ornamental
end of the sari, normally worn thrown over the shoulder in the
modern Nivi style.
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Ganga jamuna - the two sacred rivers of India. This means a
sari with a top and bottom border in dfferent colors.
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Gauze - a very lightweight and soft weave that is almost
transparent.
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Gharchola - means "from the home" - a typically
patterned sari style from Rajasthan with large zari checks and
bandhni tie dye work in the open areas of the checks.
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Gulabi - rose - used as a term for a round floral motif and
for the pretty rose pink color favored by Indian women on their
sarees.
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Handloom - the arduous and authentic work of the weaving
craftspeople. A handloomed sari takes days to complete and each
thread is meticulously and patiently laid against the next in the
process. At sometimes 60 to 100 threads per inch - imagine how
long that would take!
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Ikat - also called bandhna in Orissa. The threads are first
dyed in patterns and then strung up on loom so that the patterns
emerge as the cloth is woven. Double ikat has both warp and weft
patterned threads.
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