For centuries, hand-weaving, also called handloom, has been the major means of producing cloth in India. Each region of the country has developed its own handloom traditions, so among hand-woven textiles there are many distinctive regional styles.

This is especially noticeable with saris, the garments worn by women throughout India. A sari is generally comprised of 5-11 yards of fabric, and its expanse of yardage has proven the perfect canvas for weavers to create patterns and motifs unique to their region. In addition, through localized weaving traditions, diverse types of fabrics have evolved, with weavers using different blends of fibers like cotton, silk and occasionally wool.

What most Indian handloom traditions have in common is the fact that weaving is a family trade that has been passed down through the generations. Weaving and related practices, such as the hand-dyeing of yarn, frequently take place in the family home.

Hand-woven fabrics are steeped in history and tradition, but with the steady expansion of mechanized weaving in India since the 19th century, the demand for handlooms has seen an almost disastrously steep decline. Mechanized weaving, done on powerlooms, can produce woven fabric far more quickly and cheaply than hand-weaving. Powerlooms now account for the bulk of cloth produced in many areas.

Around the middle of the 20th century, renewed interest in traditional Indian handicrafts spurred the establishment of government and nonprofit programs to revive languishing crafts, including many types of regional hand-weaving. However, competition from commercial powerlooms is still a major factor, and some handloom traditions have nearly disappeared.

Maheshwari
Maheshwari weaving has royal roots. The city of Maheshwar, in central India, had long produced cotton cloth, but the city's weavers began to specialize in fine fabrics when, during the 18th century, a queen made the city her capital.

Queen Ahilyabai Holkar brought skilled craftspeople to teach local weavers their techniques. The city gained a reputation for its fine cloth as the queen began wearing locally made fabrics and presenting Maheshwari textiles as gifts to royalty in other kingdoms.

Today, the major products of Maheshwar's looms are saris. The city's weavers produce a lightweight cloth hand-woven with cotton yarn in the weft (horizontal threads on a loom) and silk yarn in the warp (a loom's vertical threads). Subtle differences in the colors of the warp and weft threads produce a luminescent quality for which the saris are renowned.

Threading the loom is an especially painstaking process because just one thread out of place can ruin the piece.

Weavers dye their own yarn, and in keeping with the fabric's gossamer qualities, pale colors are often favored for Maheshwari saris. However earthy shades are also common, reflecting the extensive use of natural dyes like indigo.

It is said that Maheshwar's weavers originally based their designs on carvings at the city's fort. Maheshwari saris feature distinctive checkered or simple geometric designs, with more detailed patterns concentrated in the border of the sari, which might incorporate zari (gold or silver thread).

Royal patronage of Maheshwar's weaving industry continued into the early 20th century. However, industrialization slowed the growth of the city's hand-weaving industry. In the 1970s, a descendant of Queen Ahilyabai founded a nonprofit agency to train craftspeople in traditional Maheshwari weaving, and several other nonprofits and a government training program have been established. With this support, Maheshwari weaving has enjoyed a modest revival.

Brocade
Brocade is a luxurious fabric more associated with palace dwellers than pre-historic peoples, but it actually represents one of the oldest types of weaving. Archaeological finds indicate that some form of brocade weaving has been practiced in India since the 15th century B.C.

Brocade is a woven silk cloth, richly patterned with floral motifs, and usually incorporating gold or silver threads in the weave. The ornate fabric is a favorite for saris and other garments, and has also long been a staple of home furnishings such as draperies. Because brocade's pattern is slightly raised off the surface of the fabric, it can have a look similar to embroidery.

On a loom, cloth is made by the interweaving of threads strung vertically, called the warp, with threads strung horizontally, called the weft. A weaver makes brocade by using extra threads in the weft. These threads form a pattern that embellishes the fabric but isn't part of the fabric's structure.

For complex patterns, it can take up to a month for a weaver simply to prepare the loom. Brocade weaving is generally a two-person job, with a weaver needing an assistant to operate the loom.

Conventional brocade is woven from silk threads, which are often dyed in rich jewel tones. Such vivid shades are achieved by using acid dyes. These dyes contain citric acid or vinegar that helps the pigment thoroughly penetrate the silk fiber.

In Indian brocades, silk threads are usually woven together with gold or silver thread called zari, which is made of precious metals stretched into a thin wire and wound around a silk or cotton thread. A few particularly elaborate brocades are woven entirely of zari.

Over centuries, India's brocade weaving trade flourished in areas near capitals or holy cities, where there was a market for costly fabrics. Hand-woven brocade has seen highs and lows in demand, particularly in the last 200 years, but the craft is still widely practiced in well-established textile centers, such as the city of Varanasi.