Thaan-थान is a Hindi
word, which means a fabric roll. It cannot be called a roll as the traditional
fabric comes in folded (bolt) form.
Thaan lengths affect consumption. The lower the thaan
length, the more is the wastage per thaan as the end pieces become more and only some of
these can be used for conversion. This assumes more importance when ordering
traditional fabrics as the processes have limitations which restrict the
maximum thaan length. This has bearing on the consumption calculation in the
situations when you want to issue fabric out for jobwork conversion into
garments.
A case needs to be mentioned in this regard. Kota which is a
traditional fabric obtained from the state of Rajasthan, was selected for
conversion into garments. It was to be used as an outer fabric on a cambric
printed base. The fabric comes traditionally in 10.5 meters of length which is
equivalent to two saris. However, this fact was ignored when ordering the
fabric and calculating the consumption. The fabric arrived and then it was
found that the wastage had gone up by almost 10% of the total length ordered.
Traditional Jaipur and Jodhpur print which are produced
using traditional techniques of Dabu,Bagru and Ajarak come in lengths of 5 to 6.5
meters only. Here the limitation is that these are to be manually dipped into a
dye bath and hence after becoming wet, they will become so heavy that
ordinarily only 5 to 6.5 meter length can be physically carried for drying. This
has a bearing on the consumption as the end pieces cannot be used.
Ikat coming from Orissa and Andhra has a limitation on thaan
length, maximum length being only 12 meters.
While working out placement prints, lengths have to be
calculated very carefully so that it comes out an exact multiple of the number
of garments to avoid wastage. This needs to be communicated to the printer
sizewise. Normally a gap of one inches is kept between the lengths so as to
facilitate cutting.
When ordering Benaras Brocades, maximum thaan length that
one can get is 10 meters as there is a
weight on the cloth beam increases after
weaving. Similar is the case when ordering Chanderi or Mangalgiri Handloom
fabric.
In the next post I will discuss about the Effect of Width
