Dhakai Jamdani Sarees- Flowers and vases designs on fine cotton

I have already written some posts under the section Indian Sarees. When it comes to sarees, West Bengal weavers stand apart by their contribution to the weaving of very fine cotton sarees. I love all type of Bengal sarees , may it be simple Bengal cotton or heavily embroidered Kantha sarees . We learn from history that, West Bengal was always famous for its muslin cloth weaving. Dakhai Jamdani sarees is the variation of muslin weaving.The exceptionally skilled weaving and the the blend of dark and light color combination make the dhakai sarees attract saree loving woman. Here is a saree with Blue and White combination:

Origin of Dhakai Saree:

The name Dhakai comes from the Dhaka city of Bangladesh. The weaving technique is inhibited  from from Bangladeshi weavers , but the design and motifs have the influence of Persian designs. Jam- means flowers and dani means vases. Due to its appeal, this technique of weaving is widely explored by weavers of West Bengal , as the result of this, now we can see many varieties of  Dhakai Jamdani Sarees.

Motifs and designs in Dhakai Jamdani sarees:

Jamdani sarees have floral motifs in Geometrical shapes. Here you can see the red floral motifs woven on white dhakai jamdani saree:

Closer view of motif:

The special technique of interlacing the threads , is used in weaving motifs of Jamdani sarees. Though Jamdani sarees were weaved using cottons, in the Mughal era, weavers started using zari to weave the Dhakai Jamdani sarees.Here is a saree with Zari weaving :

 

To meet the current fashion trends, jamdani weavers are using new designs and innovation. This effort of the weavers , is making the Jamdani saree, a designer saree, that every saree loving woman wants to have  in her saree collection.