Conventional silk is produced by boiling silk worms alive in their cocoons, killing some 6,000 worms to produce 1 kg of silk. Peace silk, also known as ahimsa or non-violent silk, is a sustainable & ethical approach to silk production which does not involve harming or killing the silk worm.
Once the moths have hatched the cocoon, the cocoons are collected by silk farmers, then spun & woven by hand. A cottage industry, the production of peace silk supports a wide & varied eco-system of women & men farmers, spinners, weavers, printers & dyers.
Silk spun & woven in this way retains properties lost during conventional methods of silk production. As a spun silk, peace silk is less lustrous than conventional silk, but is incredibly soft and has a rich, slubbed texture & an incredible drape. Because of the air pockets retained in the yarn, it retains warmth in winter & breathes in the heat so is comfortable to wear year round.
Bandhani derives from the Sanskrit word, banda, meaning "to tie" and developed during the Indus River Civilisation. The typical bandhani style of concentrations of small dots that we are familiar with today dates back to the 6th century AD where evidence of this style was found in the Ajanta caves.
Our bandhani craftswomen in Bhuj, Gujarat, are repositories of this ancient skill, which involves taking the minutest pinch of fabric between two fingers and wrapping thread around the pinched cloth.
This laborious process is repeated across the surface of the fabric, which is then dyed. Areas under the thread resist the dye, and upon opening, reveal a complex of tiny dots. The smaller the bandhani, the more skilled the craftswoman.
Any variations or irregularities are to be celebrated. They are part of the design & inherent to the handcrafted production process, making this item beautifully unique.
