How a Banarasi saree is hand-loomed

A single Banarasi saree takes 6 months to weave on a traditional handloom. Four artisans work in shifts — each handles one part of the loom. The warp sits on a frame 12 feet long.

We visited the workshop in Varanasi in October. Here's what we saw.

01. The yarn. The weaver starts with raw silk thread — sometimes Mulberry, sometimes Tussar. The thread is wound onto a bobbin, then dyed in copper vats. The color of the gold zari is fixed with alum and crushed silver.

02. The warp. 8,000 individual threads are tied to the loom by hand. This takes 3 days for a single saree. Every thread. By hand.

03. The weave. The weaver sits at the loom for 6 hours at a stretch. They pass the shuttle through the warp 12,000 times for one saree. Their hands memorize the pattern after a year of practice.

04. The border. The gold zari border is woven separately, then joined to the body by hand. This is the part that takes longest.

05. The finishing. The saree is washed in rice water, dried in the sun, then pressed with a hot iron. The silk gets its final sheen this way.

06. The cost. A real Banarasi costs between ₹15,000 and ₹3,00,000 depending on the silk and zari weight. Our ₹18,000 saree uses pure Mulberry silk and pure gold zari — no shortcuts.

Next time you drape one, remember: 8,000 threads, 12,000 shuttle passes, 6 months.