tanchoi

This is a figured silk in which a densly patterned heavy fabric is created that has no floats on the reverse. The unused threads are woven into the foundation at the back. Traditionally, the face of the fabric has a satin weave ground ( warp threads) with small patterns made by the weft threads repeated over the entire surface.

The supplementary weft patterning of these brocades is woven in silk. The threads may be either untwiste, giving a 'thick' line to the woven design or they may be made of twisted yarns that produce a finer, denser pattern.

Tanchoi brocades originated from China, initially being part of nineteenth century Parsi trade between India, China and England.

Dimensions for a Banaras 5 colored tanchoi silk may be length 559 cm, width 117 cm, warp count may be 109/cm and weft count as 132/cm.