Kancheepuram silk has dominated the south Indian silk industry since decades and will continue to do so not only because of its individuality but also because of its very fine silk fabric, which in itself has an added luster. The best quality of this silk fabric comes from Tamilnadu. The name of this fabric is kept so as to acknowledge the place from which it has originated that is, the Kanchipuram district in Tamilnadu.
These silk sarees are handwoven with mulberry silk. This silk is dyed with various beautiful colors and then woven together with the golden thread which is also known as ‘zari’. This whole process takes about a maximum of 10 to 20 days for one saree, and that too by 2 or 3 weavers at a time. These sarees carry various designs such as that of the sun, the moon, various animals such as the very beautiful peacocks, the royal lions, the parrots and the swans, royal chariots etc. Designs keep varying in various parts of the saree, such as the pallu might consist of various temple depictions, with contrasting colors and tones.
With the society evolving in every aspect, even the saree has evolved a lot. It initially started with the 9-yard sarees that were woven to blend well with the patterning of temple stories. But, over the period of time, these sarees have also been converted to 6 yards with the gold zari weaving. In the earlier days, this weaving was bound to be a gold weaving, but nowadays even artificial gold zari is used, to keep the shine intact.
Being one of the most lustrous and beautiful silks, Kancheepuram silk is mostly used in auspicious ceremonies like weddings, or festivals.