Chirala handloom fabrics famous since times immemorial
05 Aug '10
4 min read
Generally in Chirala cluster, fly shuttle loom type of looms are used, which can be equipped additionally with barrel dobby, lattice dobby and jacquard according to the variety of the fabric woven by the weaver. The barrel dobby is used to produce small design with 24 threads of extra warp design on border or at desired place of the fabrics, like dhoties, sarees, shirtings and dress material cloth.
The lattice dobby is used to produce designs with 48 threads of extra warp design on sarees and dress materials. The Jacquard is used to weave designs with extra warp or extra weft or both depending on the fabric requirement. For the weaving of plain fabric the fly shuttle loom alone is enough, no additional attachment like dobby or jacquard is required.
There are about 60,000 handloom weavers at Chirala, out of which about 20,000-25,000 weavers are presently active. These 20,000-25,000 weavers are working on about 18,000 looms. In addition there are fifteen yarn traders, 25-30 dyers, 6 designers and card makers using cad system, 50-70 hand-work designers and card makers and 50-100 other ancillary providers. The annual turnover of this cluster is estimated at around Rs. 1.0-1.2 billion.
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