Trip to Bhagalpur- Pureni and Miranchak Clusters

 Visit to Pureni 


Pureni, a place about 12 km from Bhagalpur, is known for its thicker deniers of Silks. At one time, it was feeding to a lot of exporters, but now only a few have remained.

A lot of government initiative has gone into the development of those clusters. One of those is the opening of several of these centers where handloom general facilities and dyeing facilities are provided.

In Pureni, a lot of weavers are working for master weavers based in Nathnagar and Bhagalpur. The picture below shows a Dupatta in Viscose and Dupion being woven for an exporter. 

A very heavy sheeny fabric is in demand for home furnishing. The picture below depicts one such fabric made in dupion. With a price of Rs. 500 plus per meter in production, it is turly for the discerning.

In handloom, different methods are used at different places to hold on the fabric. The picture below shows a typical cross style of gripping the fabric.

A look at the chamber dyeing machines at weavers service center. The machines are so new that it is evident that these are hardly used. 

A look at the sari woven at the service center. The motif is in Jamdani style, where the extra weft is inserted using big sewing needles.

Type of Yarns

This yarn is a single Matka yarn. Matka yarn is made from waste of Mulberry Silk

The yarn below is ghicha yarn from Pureni. Ghicha from Pureni is finer than that from Baghaiya.

The yarn below is a twist of Matka yarn and Dupion yarn.

Yarn below is called Matka Throwester Also called ( 27/1). It is made up from Waste of Katan Silk. It is also called Matka 85, as it was first used in 1985. Second picture is a close of the yarn. The yarn is very slubby and very soft.

The yarn below is the twisted Throwster ( 27/2).

The yarn below is Dupion yarn. Characterized by soft twist and feel, it adds sheen to any thing it is woven with. 

The fabric below is made up of Valkal, the yarn obtained from the link by which cocoon is held on the tree. Very costly.

Visit to Miranchak 


Picture below is that of a cho cho yarn. Generally it is made from waste silk. However the yarn below is that of viscose.

The picture below depicts the mat made out of cho-cho yarn.

A look at the weaver community there. 

A sari being woven there using polyester in weft.

A look at the school at Miranchak

A fabric using Matka 85+Dupion and matka.

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...they learned to spin and spool...Textile Songs

I happen to come across some of the songs written on the theme of textile mills. Sadly, almost all of them show the toil and hard work in a textile mills.

This songs depicts the plight of child workers used to work in the Textile Mills of America. A few lines (Source):

....Those babies all grew up unlearned, they never went to school.
They never learned to read or. write. They learned to spin and spool.
Every time I close my eyes, I see that picture still
When textile work was carried on by babies in the mill.... 


See the complete video here...

The other one, written on the Carolina Mills of Denim, depicts the similar theme of hard work at mills:

I am sure there are more. Looking forward to your suggestions.

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GK Questions on Apparels

The following Questions are taken from my son's GK book, who is in 8th Standard. Out of twelve questions, I could answer only two. Lets see how many can you answer:

1. A Welsh country town gave its name to a warm long sleeved woollen garment. Name it.

2. Smocking is a popular form of decoration on clothes. What is the name of the stitch in which smocking is worked ?

3. Which item of clothing did James Belcher give his name to in the nineteenth century.

4. What name is given to the thin veil worn by Muslin women in public ?

5. What was the name of the very narrow skirt introduced in 1910 which made it difficult for the wearer to walk?

6. An anorak is a long hooded jacket of skin or cloth. From what language does the word "anorak" come ?

7. Who would wear an Orphrey, Morse and Cope and carry a cozier ?

8. What is the name of the kind of pouch which Scotsmen wear in front of their kilts.

9. What is the name of a loose tunic worn in Arabia, Persia and Malaysia.

10. What were known as Oxford Bags ?

11. On which part of the body is a wimple worn and who would normally be seen wearing it ?

12. One of the British Channel islands gave its name to to a knitted woollen garment. Name it.

Answers


1. Cardigan
2. Honeycomb Stitch
3. Scarf
4. Yashmak
5. Hobble Skirt
6. Eskimo
7. Bishop
8.Sporran
9. Kabaya
10. Extremely wide bottomed trousers.
11. On the head, a nun
12. Jersey

Find more Quiz Questions here.  ( Please type "Dress" in the filter)

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Textile Testing without instruments

The tests as given below can be used to arrive at a preliminary conclusion. Definitive conclusions must be drawn by the standard test methods.

Difference between carded and combed yarns (Or woollen and worsted yarns) of the same count

Untwist the yarn and note the arrangement in the fibers. In carded yarns, the fibers are spread unevenly across the length. In combed yarn, they will lie parallel to the yarn surface. Similar test can be done to distinguish between woollen and worsted yarns.

Closeness of the Weave

Hold the cloth to the light and look through it. It can be determined to find if the weave is loose or close. It can also give you an idea about the uniformity of yarns.

Also run your thumbnail diagonally across the cloth. Any loose weave will manifest itself in the form of pathway made across the cloth after the thumbnail.

Elasticity

Crumple the fabric and note the behavior when the pressure is removed. The fabric should spring back to its former shape quickly.

Starch

Rub the fabric together, starch will come out in the form of dust. Or tear the fabric, dust will fly.

Strength

Grasp the cloth in both hands about an inch apart and pull steadily.

Drape 

Just spread the fabric over a surface so that it hangs down all around it and note the drape.

Colorfastness to Washing and Rubbing

Simply wash it or rub with a cloth.

Fastness to spotting- Used for Silk

Sprinkle a drop of water with little lime added to it. Allow it to dry then brush off.

Strain Resistance on Seam


Push the warp and weft with the finger nails, if they are pushed easily, the material will fray at seam. Another way to teat is to weave a needle in and out of the double of the material as if making a tuck. the Single cloth is then drawn away from each side of the needle and if a row of holes shows clearly alongside of the needle the material will not bear a strain.

Fastness to Perspiration

To test the change of color, dip it in a little warm vinegar and drying between tissue papers without rinsing.

Burn test methods to detect fiber composition are covered elsewhere in this blog.

Source

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