Heritage Weaves
The traditionally woven woolen chaddars of Uttarkashi
For the last four years, we have been visiting the interiors of the areas surrounding Dharali and Gangotri and discovered the traditional woolen chaddars that are woven by local villagers. These wonderful hand-woven articles are customarily worn as a wrap around sarong or lunghi to keep the wearer warm while working in the fields. They are also ideally used as a bed or sofa cover or worn like a shawl. The area of production begins below Gangotri in the many villages that dote the landscape of upper Gharwal.
Research and Documentation
The chaddar consists of a mattan mostly in brown and white or black and white checks. Some can be with a self-pattern in the weave. The mattan is woven in two lengths and joined by hand embroidery in a blanket stitch using multi colored threads. The two ends have borders that are very bright Indian pink (magenta) and red interspersed with some brown or black thread. Nowadays the weave is becoming coarser. If it is not properly and tightly woven, the whole shawl loses its value. The finished product measures approximately 3.5 meters in length and 44-46 inches in width. We found that the production is languishing due to decreased demand because now local people want modern clothing rather than the traditional ones.
Aims and Objectives
To encourage more production and have a finer quality of this traditional material, both local Indian as well as foreign markets should be tapped. Foreigners have pointed out that the traditional colors should be supplemented by ochre as well as using a lighter brown rather than darker. The checks should also be of a smaller size and the borders woven in shades of mustard and brown. The weaving should be done tightly to minimize coarseness and the checks reduced in size.