Chintamani Silk : The Story Unfolded

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
INTRODUCTION
o SILK
o
SILK IN INDIA
o
HISTORY OF SILK
o
CRAFT CLUSTER : CHINTAMANI

OBJECTIVES
o LIFESTYLE
o
WORKING CONDITIONS
o
TOOLS, MACHINERY, LOOMS
o
RAW MATERIALS, SOURCING, PRODUCTS

METHODOLOGY
o SERICULTURE
o
SILK REARING
o DYEING
o
SILK SAREE WEAVING

OBJECTIVES
WEAVERS PROFILE
DYERS PROFILE

Acknowledgement
Every work accomplished is a pleasure- A sense of satisfaction.
We would like to use this opportunity to thank all, who have directly or indirectly helped us to accomplish this project. Firstly we would
like to thank NIFT for giving us this opportunity and for supporting us with the resources, which beyond any doubt have helped us. We
would like to thank our mentor Mr. Mohan Kumar who gave his valuable time and feedback on this project.
We thank the team members who have contributed to this document with their individual opinions and efforts, which has a gone a
long way in soothing our rough edges and teammates and make this document a success.

INTRODUCTION

SILK
SILK IN INDIA
HISTORY OF SILK
CRAFT CLUSTER : CHINTAMANI

In general, organzine thread is used for the warp threads of materials, tram
threads for the weft or filling, crepe thread for weaving crinkly fabrics and a
single thread for sheer fabrics.
Broken or waste filaments and damaged cocoons are retained, treated to
remove the sericin, and combed. This is then processed into yarn, marketed
as spun silk, which is inferior in character to the reeled product and much
cheaper.
There are five major types of silk of commercial
mportance, obtained from different species of silkworms which in turn feed on
a number of food plants. These are:
Mulberry
Oak Tasar& Tropical Tasar
Muga, Eri

Raw silk is twisted into a strand sufficiently strong for

weaving or knitting. This process of creating the silk yarn
is called throwing, and prevents the thread from splitting
into its constituent fibers.
Four different types of silk thread may be produced from
this procedure: crepe, tram, thrown singles, and
organzine. Crepe is made by twisting individual threads
of raw silk, doubling two or more of these together, and
then twisting them again. Tram is made by twisting two
or more threads in only one direction. Thrown singles are
individual threads that are twisted in only one direction.
Organzine is a thread made by giving the raw silk a
preliminary twist in one direction and then twisting two of
these threads together in the opposite direction.

SILK IN INDIA

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Geographically, Asia is the main producer of silk in the world and produces over
95 % of the total global output. Though there are over 40 countries on the world
map of silk, bulk of it is produced in China and India, followed by Japan, Brazil
and Korea. China is the leading supplier of silk to the world.
India is the second largest producer of silk and also the largest consumer of silk
in the world. It has a strong tradition and culture bound domestic market of silk. In
India, mulberry silk is produced mainly in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir and West Bengal, while the non-mulberry silks are
produced in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and north-eastern states.
The country is the second largest silk manufacturer contributing to 18% of the total
raw silk production.

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HISTORY OF SILK IN INDIA

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Silk has a long history in India. It is known as Paat in eastern

India, Pattu in southern parts of India, and Resham in north India.
Recent archaeological discoveries in Harappa and Chanhu-daro
suggest that sericulture, employing wild silk threads from native
silkwormspecies, existed in South Asia during the time of the Indus
Valley Civilization dating between 2450 BC and 2000 BC, while
hard and fast evidence for silk production in China dates back to
around 2570 BC.ShelaghVainker, a silk expert at the Ashmolean
Museum in Oxford, who sees evidence for silk production in China
significantly earlier than 25002000 BC, suggests, people of
the Indus civilization either harvested silkworm cocoons or traded
with people who did, and that they knew a considerable amount
about silk.
India is the second largest producer of silk in the world after
China. About 97% of the raw silk comes from five Indian states,
namely,Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil
Nadu and West Bengal.North Bangalore, the upcoming site of a
$20 million Silk City Ramanagara and Mysore, contribute to a
majority of silk production in Karnataka.

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OBJECTIVES
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LIFESTYLE
WORKING CONDITIONS
TOOLS, MACHINERY, LOOMS
RAW MATERIAL, SOURCING , PRODUCTS

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LIFESTYLE

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The weavers lead a very basic life. They work as a family and have individual looms in their respective houses.
The women take care of the kids and the household while the men function the looms and are the earning members
of the family. They work from 8a.m to 8p.m, with no holidays. Since each household owns a loom they are self
dependent and free from restricted working environment. Some households have hand looms whereas some have
powerlooms and some have both. Most of the households have more than one loom(2-3).

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WORKING CONDITIONS

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The working conditions at Chintamani is not very convenient for the weavers. The
looms are placed in a very small area , where the weavers work sitting in a pit,
which leads to may health issues. The climatic conditions are suitable . They also
face power cuts for a minimum of 1 hour every day.

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TOOLS, MACHINERY , LOOMS

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Different types of tools are used during the various stages of the weaving process, beginning from the dyeing
process to the making of thread, spinning and finally the weaving process. The main impliments needed for
dyeing process are ther dyes, a huge container for boiling and iron rodes for drying. The spinning wheel helps
is turning fiber into thread or yarn. The design required on saree is initially drawn in a computer and this is
punched into a card and these cards are loaded in jacquard in the loom. First

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RAW MATERIAL , SOURCING ,PRODUCTS

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Raw materials is sourced locally from Sidalagatta and
Kalnuru.
They use pure silk as Pure silk is more lustrous & expensive
than raw silk.
They weave minimum two sarees in a week.
Working hours-: 8AM 7PM. They work on all days of
the week.
Handloom is brought from Hindupur and its costs Rs
50,000. The cost depends on the number of jacquard
hooks.
Topit-border 240, Jacquard border Rs 70,000
They make various colour combinations depending on the
trend for the same design like maroon, green etc.

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METHODOLOGY

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SERICULTURE
DYEING
PROCESS OF SILK REARING
SILK SAREE WEAVING PROCESS

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SERICULTURE

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- It is the art of producing the silk the textile queen highly

valued fabrics, using mulberry leaf, silk worms and technology.
- It is a rural based agro industry, helps rural agriculturist, artisans and also helps in rural development.
- It provides quick fabulous and continuous returns and also higher returns with low investment.
- It is an ideal programme for the weaker sections, which helps self employment and family labour. Provides
independent income to women.
- Prevents migration from rural to urban.
- Transfers wealth from rich to poor.
- Earns name, fame and foreign exchange to the nation.

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DYEING
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Degumming processHot water + washing soda (15 minutes) + soap

-

They used chemical dyes and acid dyes.

Washed with cold water
It is put in aid dye again for fixation
Done for 3-4 hours
Maximum of 5000 colours can be achieved from 12 basic colours
Degumming reduces the weight by 22%
Warp yarn is for Rs 170 per kg. After degumming, the weight
reduces by 23%.
- Weft yarn is for Rs 120 per kg and weight reduces by 25%
- For 1 kg silk yarn, 100 gms of soda and 40 gms of soap are used.
Chemical dyes are brought from Chickpet, Bangalore
- Degumming increases the strength of the yarn
- One saree weighs approximately 350 gms weft and 2 ply warp
yarns (300-350 gms)
- Before degumming, the yarn is called Kora
- Warp 22 Denier
- Weft 25 Denier
- 50 litres of water for 15 kg of yarn
- They use tomber vessel for dyeing
- When water becomes hick, hey change it
- Some of the colours used are olive green, maroon, golden and blue

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PROCESS OF SILK REARING

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1. HATCHING THE EGGS

The first stage of silk production is the laying of silkworm eggs, in a controlled environment such as an aluminum box, which are then
examined to ensure they are free from disease. The female deposits 300 to 400 eggs at a time.
In an area the size of your monitor screen, 100 moths would deposit some 40,000 eggs, each about the size of a pinhead. The female
dies almost immediately after depositing the eggs and the male lives only a short time after. The adult possesses rudimentary mouthparts
and does not eat during the short period of its mature existence.
The tiny eggs of the silkworm moth are incubated (about 10 days) until they hatch into larvae (caterpillars). At this point, the larva is about
a quarter of an inch long.

2. THE FEEDING PERIOD

Once hatched, the larvae are placed under a fine layer of gauze and fed huge
amounts of chopped mulberry leaves during which time they shed their skin four times.
The larvae may also feed on Osage orange or lettuce. Larvae fed on mulberry leaves
produce the very finest silk. The larva will eat 50,000 times its initial weight in plant
material.
For about six weeks the silkworm eats almost continually. After growing to its maximum
size of about 3 inches at around 6 weeks, it stops eating, changes color, and is about
10,000 times heavier than when it hatched.
The silkworm is now ready to spin a silk cocoon.

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3. SPINNING OF THE COCOON

The silkworm attaches itself to a compartmented frame, twig, tree or shrub
in a rearing house to spin a silk cocoon over a 3 to 8 day period. This
period is termed pupating.
Silkworms possess a pair of specially modified salivary glands called
sericteries, which are used for the production of fibroin a clear, viscous,
proteinaceous fluid that is forced through openings called spinnerets on the
mouthpart of the larva.
Liquid secretions from the two large glands in the insect emerge from the
spinneret, a single exit tube in the head. The diameter of the spinneret
determines the thickness of the silk thread, which is produced as a long,
continuous filament. The secretions harden on exposure to the air and form
twin filaments composed of fibroin, a protein material. A second pair of
glands secretes a gummy binding fluid called sericin which bonds the two
filaments together.
Steadily over the next four days, the silkworm rotates its body in a figure-8
movement some 300,000 times, constructing a cocoon and producing
about a kilometer of silk filament.
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4. REELING THE FILAMENT

At this stage, the cocoon is treated with hot air, steam, or boiling water. The silk is then unbound from the cocoon by softening the sericin
and then delicately and carefully unwinding, or reeling the filaments from 4 - 8 cocoons at once, sometimes with a slight twist, to create
a single strand.
As the sericin protects the silk fiber during processing, this is often left in until the yarn or even woven fabric stage. Raw silk is silk that still
contains sericin. Once this is washed out (in soap and boiling water), the fabric is left soft, lustrous, and up to 30% lighter. The amount of
usable silk in each cocoon is small, and about 2500 silkworms are required to produce a pound of raw silk.

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SILK SAREE WEAVING

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Warping: The yarn is bought by the weavers or given by the

cooperative societies. It is dyed in desired colors and then
sent for warping.
Reed making: The artisan communities make bamboo reed
and denting of the reed. The reed setup is a vital part of the
loom that controls the way the threads are lifted.
Heald making: After the reed is made, silk yarn is twisted
to make leases and dented in the slots of the reed. Once
the denting is done, 8 bamboo rodsare positioned for the
4 shafts and healds are tied by threading through the warp
ends. Plucking each warp end and looping the heald eye
around it from both the face and back makes the eyes of the
healds.

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Piecing: Piecing is a process where the existing ends on the reed-heald

setup is joined with the ends from the new warp by twisting. This
pre-weaving process is undertaken by older women.
Adding leases: Once the piecing is done, the weaver unrolls the warp out on
street on stilts to insert lease rods and to mark out the length of each saree.
The leases are inserted and marking is done using a bamboo stick and damp
kumkum. The warp is then rolled on the metal cylinder that acts as the warp
beam. The setup is then taken indoors to be fitted onto the loom.

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The loom: The loom used for silk saree weaving is a raised-pit loom. A cement seat is constructed for sitting and the
local wood craftsman makes all the parts of the loom and assembles it. Teak wood is used to make looms. The warp
beam is fixed in its position on the loom and the warp stretched out. The border pattern warp ends are hung using
vertical nylon threads and connected to the patterning box on top.
Winding weft: Weft yarn is wound on a metal cylinder from the hank and allowed to soak for two hours. Soaking
the weft yarn ensures dense packing of weft and a smooth finish. The weft yarn is wound as the weaving progresses.
This is done mostly at home by family members in their free time.
Making saree: The body of the saree is woven in a plain weave and the cross border is woven in a rib weave. The
saree is soaked in water overnight and woven wet. This prevents the saree from coiling on itself or tangling. After
every few inches of weaving, a solution of gum Arabic is applied to the saree to stiffen it.
Folding: Once the sari is made beam is removed and the kept in sunlight for a while to stiffen the starch and gum.
Once dried, the saree is folded in a set pattern. It takes two people to do this task. It is usually the husband and wife
who do this and tie it. The sarees are then stacked and covered with fabric, ready to be taken to the cooperative or
private dealer.

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OBSERVATIONS

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CONS
- Not many people know about the craft cluster due to lack of awareness and

visibility in the form of sign boards while approaching the place.

- Power cuts for minimum of an hour everyday.
- Hand looms require a lot of manual labour compared to Power looms.
- Working conditions are not very comfortable.
- Weather is not suitable for smooth working conditions.
- Basic amenities and necessities are not easily available due to the isolated location
of the cluster.
- Weavers are not compensated well enough for their efforts due to involvement of
middle men in marketing their products.

PROS

Less pollution compared to the city.

Hassel free commutation due to less traffic.
Raw materials are easily available and also subsidised by the government.
There is a very amicable relationship amongst the weavers of the same as well as
different households and they all work together as one big family.

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WEAVERS PROFILE

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1) Name: Manjunath (Owner)

Age: 33 years
Experience: 20 years
Education: Till class 8th
Salary: Rs 50,000
Phone No.: +919740171850
Languages: Kannada, Telugu

2) Name: Munniraj
Age: 40 years
Experience: 10 years
Education: SSLC
Salary: Rs 10,000
Languages: Kannada, Telugu

3) Name: Ravichandran
Age: 23 years
Experience: 12 years
Education: BA graduate
Salary: Rs 6,000
Languages: Kannada, Telugu

4) Name: Lakshmi (Owners wife)

Age: 30 years
Experience: 15 years
Education: SSLC
Languages: Kannada, Telugu

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DYERS PROFILE
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No. of members working : 2

Working hours- 8 am to 5 pm
- They started working from the age of 14 for
30 years.
- The owner is trained from Gayatri Dyers in
Bangalore.
- They get orders from nearby places
- The owner earns upto Rs 20,000 to Rs
25,000 monthly and workers salary is Rs 200
per day.

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