SULEBHAVI WEAVING
CLUSTER
Sulebhavi is one of the famous handloom centers in Karnataka. It is located in the Belgaum
taluk of Belgaum district in Karnataka. They mainly produce traditional Ilkal sarees which
are season based. They use nearly 626 handlooms which are traditional, which follows old
technology and uses a single warp system. This system is not very efficient which ultimately
causes the weavers to earn a very low amount.
Fig. Knotting of tassles.
Geography:
Belagum has an average elevation of 751 metres (2,464 feet). The city is in
the northwestern parts of Karnataka and lies at the border of two states,
Maharashtra and Goa on the western ghats It is one of the oldest towns in
the state, lying 502 km from Bangalore.
Climate:
Belgaum has a tropical savanna climate. It is known for its pleasant year-
round climate. Belgaum is at its coldest in winter and it experiences almost
continuous monsoon rains from June through September.
Demographics:
As per the provisional 2011 India census, the population of Belgaum is
488,292, and its urban / metropolitan population is 610,189. The local
languages spoken in this city are Kannada and Marathi language and
official language is Kannada. There are also minority number of Urdu,
Konkani speakers. Karnataka’s traditional handlooms such as Ilkal saris or
Guledgudda blouse pieces are well known even outside the State for their
distinct style and fine quality. Districts in Karnataka : Bagalkot, Belgaum,
Bellary.
Transportation:
Road: Belgaum is connected by road via national highways 4 (connecting
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu)
and 4A (connecting Karnataka and Goa). North Western Karnataka Road
Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) run buses to all corners of Karnataka
and to neighboring states and other private bus services that provide
transport all across the state. KSRTC services almost all villages in
Karnataka.
Air: The city is served by Belgaum Airport at Sambra, which is the oldest
airport in North Karnataka and lies 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the city on
State Highway 20. Belgaum airport is included in UDAN 3 scheme. Now,
Alliance Air (India), Spice Jet, Star Air have daily flights to Bangalore,
Hyderabad and Ahmadabad.
Rail: Belgaum railway station is on the Indian Railways grid, being part of
the South Western railways, and is well connected by rail to major
destinations.
About Sulebhavi weaving cluster:
The cluster consistes of the society and the workers. There is a Chairman and
9 members in the society. They are in charge of providing the weavers with
everything they require.
There are about 1798 weavers who all live in the village. New weavers can
join and get training at the cluster. Pit looms are continued to be used. There
are 950 dobby looms and 19 jacquard looms. Looms are at the homes of the
weavers and there are 19 looms at the society which can be used if the looms
at home are under maintenance.
Fig Weaver using a pitloom.
The society and Government offers many schemes to the weavers.
On an average, one saree (cotton, art silk) takes around 2 days. A silk saree with
more designs can take up to a week.
The weaver gets paid about (per saree):
Silk-Cotton: Rs.550
Pure Cotton: Rs. 700
Pure Silk: Rs.3000-4000
These are mounts are fixed by the society.
There are 962 men and 836 women who are part of the cluster. The men mainly
focus on the weaving, while the women focus on waring, Bobbin winding, Pirn,
joining the warp. “Both genders are required to make a saree with perfection” said
the master weaver.
The age demographic of the cluster is between the age of 25 and 50. There are a few
above the age of 60.
Each saree is marked with handloom and silk trademarks.
Fig. A draped ilkal saree
The cluster makes around 3 to 4 sarees a day and approximately 80 sarees a
month. The cluster mainly uses Art silk, Cotton and silk. The art silk brings down
the cost of the saree. The customers prefer low cost products, therefore more art silk
is used. Peacock green, Parrot green and pomegranate red are the most used
colours. Sindoor red is used for traditional wedding sarees.
Ilkal Sarees are mostly worn by women over the age of 45. Changes to
contemporary designs to appeal to the youth. Kastumbari embroidery, Lotus and
elephant motifs are commonly used for the design aspect of the saree.
The average saree dimensions is 6m by 2m.
The income of the weavers are based on the skill level and experience, time worked
in the cluster and designs used to create a saree.
There are three main borders used to accentuate the ilkal saree:
1. Gayatri border:
Fig. Gayatri border (Pomegranate red).
The width of the border is 5”. Popular in Maharasthra.
2. Chikki border:
Fig. Chikki border
The border width is 3.5”. Art silk and viscose yarns are more
commonly used for this border.
3. Gomi border:
Fig. Gomi border.
The border width is 3.5-5”.
Covid: During the lockdown due to the surge in Corona cases in India, the cluster
had stopped working, this caused them to lose a lot of their business hence almost
no income for a few months. Now with proper precautions and safety standards
they have resumed their production.
Best selling saree as of November, 2020.
Fig Pure cotton Sarees
Pure cotton sarees come in various different colours.
Warp: 2 by 100
Weft: 2 by 100
The designs are conceptualized by the weavers themselves. There are good sales as
of November,2020.
Fig.
Traditional Bridal Saree
A Traditional Bridal saree comes in a Sindoor red colour and costs up to Rs
10500/-
Fig.
Metallic
Yarns
Fig.
Bestselling
saree.
Metallic
yarns are
incorporated into the saree body to create designs.
Yarns:
The yarns are brought in from the mills directly. They are readymade and pre-
dyed. Karnataka silk, Art silk from Pune and Cotton, Silk yarns from Coimbatore
are used. The society buys the yarns and provide it to the weavers depending on the
weaver’s requirement.
Yarns are tested before use.
The check the dye quality: Shading, Fastness, Bleeding, the yarns put in
water.
For silk yarns, the yarns are tested with acid to check if the colour changes.
Petrol can also be used.
The yarns are used only if the dye quality is good and approved.
They get the yarns dyed at a specific place but due to the COVID-19 situation, they
get it readymade.
Usually, for one silk saree, 1kg yarns are used and for one cotton silk saree around
300-400g of yarns are used without dye weight.
Silk yarns after degumming process loses their weight: for 1kg silk yarns after
degumming comes up to 750g. Acid dye is used for dyeing silk yarns.
Silk saree:
Body : 6300 yarns
Border yarns:2000 yarns
60-80warp
20-24 weft.
Cotton Saree (warp,weft):
2/120
2/100
2/80
Fig.
Readymade
yarns.
Fig. yarns used for weaving Gomi border saree.
A chikki border requires 5 shuttles.
