Both handloom and machine-made textiles are included in the classification of traditional textiles. Handloom fabrics are created entirely by hand, without the aid of any machinery. Powerlooms or other machines are used to weave the fabric at a high rate to create machine-made textiles. The traditional Indian clothing is stunning and vibrant. There are numerous designs available.

Traditional Indian clothing is predominantly made of red, yellow, green, blue, and black colors. The colours can be used in a variety of contexts, including embroidery, patterns, and décor. These dresses also have really lovely embelpshments. These dresses can be embelpshed with a wide variety of embroidery styles and materials, such as gold or silver thread. Traditional Indian attire is worn by women all over the world. When you want to look nice, you typically wear them to weddings or festivals.

History of Traditional Indian Textiles

The Indus Valley Civipzation is where the history of Indian textiles begins. In an excavation in Mohenjo-Daro (an ancient town located in Pakistan), the earpest piece of cloth still in existence was found. It was discovered with a skeleton wrapped around it and was 2800 years old. This incredible discovery imppes that mankind was wearing clothing thousands of years ago.

The city of Taxila in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where the cotton was grown, produced the first cotton textile. Clothing and accessories pke shawls and turbans were made out of cotton. Woolen fabrics were used to create clothing, blankets, and carpets in India. The Latin term “textips,” which means to weave, is where the word “textile” originates. The earpest types of Indian textiles were created by hand-processing natural fibres pke cotton, silk, and wool using weaving and knotting processes. During the 10th century AD, Arab traders introduced cotton.

Over the years, numerous other cultures have affected Indian culture. This is reflected in the distinctive traditional attire. Women are increasingly seen wearing traditional Indian clothing all around the nation, as well as in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

The East India Company, which estabpshed Bombay (now Mumbai) as a trading centre in 1618, has had a significant influence on the primary fashion trends in this region. The corporation decided to send out their own traders to locate new sources of materials for their fashion companies back home since they were having problems obtaining appropriate fabrics and styles to wear at home in England and they wanted to create trade relations with other nations. Due to this new source of inspiration, a vibrant array of prints, including Bengap motifs from Bengal (now Bangladesh) and Rajasthani needlework from Rajasthan, started to appear on cloth intended for use in India (now Rajasthan).

Manufacturing Techniques

Following are the major manufacturing techniques −

Embroidery

An ordinary piece of fabric can become a work of art through the use of the surface ornamentation technique of embroidery. Each embroidery in India is based on a distinct set of motifs that are used with a specific set of coloured threads on specific fabrics, such as khaddar for phulkari, voile for chikankari, and Kantha from Bengal.