Ahimsa silk
Leena Das
of Village Art started working in Bhagalpur, Bihar, in 2008 after
completing her graduation in fashion and textile design from the
National Institute of Fashion Technology (Nift), Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Das, who showcases her collections mostly through exhibitions, recently
worked on a range of about 40 saris, which were woven from Ahimsa silk
yarn, also known as the “peace yarn”. “There is a way to extract yarn
from the (silkworm) cocoons without killing the pupae. You wait for the
cocoon to crack open on its own without putting it in boiling water,
facilitate the pupa to leave the cocoon and then hand-spin the yarn.”
Das admits the saris made from this yarn have a coarse finish and
currently she is working with her husband, Avishek Manav, a handloom
technologist, to find ways to make this yarn softer so that the final
weave can make the sari drape more free-flowing.
Ahimsa silk saris start at Rs.4,500. Contact Das at dasleena@gmail.com.
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