Hand Spinning and Weaving
Many of Chandni Chowk’s fair trade fabrics use Hand Spun yarn and/or are Hand Woven. Fabric which is both hand spun and hand woven is known as Khadi. These skilled techniques for producing cloth date back for generations, and in many respects the methods remain largely unchanged. Spinning yarn by hand is central to Indian artisan culture and everyday life. The yarn is spun using a Charka (wheel) or a drop spindle. The resulting thread has variations in its thickness, which when woven into a cloth creates a characteristic textured fabric, different in feel to fabric which has been machine spun and woven. Many of our weavers work either in small local groups or in their own homes. They are often also farmers using weaving as a supplement to their main income.
Chandni Chowk uses only natural fibres, largely cotton, though there are also ranges in Tussar or Matka silk and some wool.
To watch our short film of hand spinning & weaving please follow this link; Hand spinning & weaving
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Matka Silk - Veggie friendly!
Is a textured, thick, slubby silk that causes no harm to the silk worm/moth. The cocoons are collected after the worms have departed naturally: hence we refer to this silk as ‘Vegetarian friendly’. Because the worms break out of their cocoons (as opposed to the more usual process of boiling the cocoons with the worm still inside), the yarn from the cocoon becomes broken into short fibres and therefore has to be hand spun back into a continuous thread before it can be woven. This spinning creates a textured yarn which is often thicker than that normally associated with silk. |
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Tussar Silk - Veggie friendly!
also causes no harm to the silk worm/moth. Tussar is a much finer texture than Matka. It is made from the cocoon of one particular moth (Antheraea Pernyl) which leaves an opening in its cocoon for the silk worm to escape through. This leaves the cocoon intact as one long fibre which does then not need to be re-spun, but is instead unwound and woven directly into the fabric known as Tussar. The use of Matka and Tussar date back many hundreds of years into traditional Indian Textile history. |
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100% Pure Wool
which Chandni Chowk uses in several of its accessories collections, is mainly woven around Almora in the foot hills of the Himalayas. Some of our collections are hand spun, all are hand woven, creating a beautiful finish to the fabrics.
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Crepe Fabric
made from 100% cotton fibres spun so that they have a high twist in the yarn, which distorts once woven, washed and then treated with a fine spray of water. The resulting fabric has a crinkled effect. The degree of crinkle on any particular fabric will vary from one colour or print to the next, as the fibres react differently to each type of dye and/or printing process.
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Care instructions for Chandni Chowk fabrics 
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