Sarees of South India
Kanchipuram silk, Kerala kasavu, Mysore silk, Pochampally ikat, Gadwal and Kalamkari: temple borders and heavy gold. 33 sarees on EveryPallu so far.
Typical motifs
States and territories
Weaving centres
Hyderabad 4Puttapaka 4Balaramapuram 2Bijapur 2Machilipatnam 2Pedana 2Srikalahasti 2Arani 1Bellary 1Bhoodan Pochampally 1Bhuvanagiri 1Calicut 1Chendamangalam 1Chennai 1Chettinad 1Chirala 1Choutuppala 1Coimbatore 1Dharmavaram 1Erode 1Gadwal 1Golconda 1Hubli 1Ilkal 1Jouy-en-Josas 1Kanchipuram 1Kasaragod 1Koranad 1Koyalgudam 1Kuthampully 1Madrasapattinam 1Mangalagiri 1Mayiladuthurai 1Nagercoil 1Narayanpet 1Nilgiris 1Ottapalam 1Palakkad 1Pochampally 1Pondicherry 1Sanduru 1Siripuram 1Sirumugai 1Thirubuvanam 1Thiruvananthapuram 1Thrissur 1Tiruppur 1Uppada 1AndimadamBengaluru and the Karnataka silk beltCoimbatore and KovaiElaiyurGattuppalaKallathurKaraikudi and the Chettinad townsKumbakonam and ThirubuvanamKuthampallyMaduraiMolakalmuruMysoreMysuruRamanagaraSalemSengunthapuramVariyankavalVenkatagiri
🇮🇳 IndiaDharmavaram silk sari
A handwoven Andhra silk sari in mulberry silk and zari, made only on pit loomsSilk · Zari work · Tie-dye
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMundumuṇṭŭ
A cotton cloth wrapped at the waist, edged with the thicker woven line called the karaCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreMadras
A light handwoven cotton cloth of bright checks, named after the city of ChennaiCotton · Checks and stripes · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaKanchipuram sari
A silk sari from Kanchipuram with a separate contrast border locked onto the bodySilk · Zari work · Brocade
🇮🇳 IndiaKandangi
A checked cotton saree from Chettinad, dyed in earthy colours with broad bordersCotton · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaPochampally sari
A Telangana handloom saree whose geometric motifs are dyed into the yarn before weavingSilk · Ikat
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUppada Jamdani sari
A light handwoven silk sari from Uppada, Andhra Pradesh, patterned in the jamdani waySilk · Jamdani · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaMangalagiri sari
A plain-bodied cotton sari from Andhra Pradesh with zari on the borderCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaChattayum mundumചട്ടയും മുണ്ടും
A two-piece white cotton dress of Kerala's Syrian Christian womenCotton · Embroidery · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaArani silk saree
A handloom silk saree from Arani, Tamil Nadu, known for its zari workSilk · Zari work · Block print
🇮🇳 IndiaKoorai silk sariகூரை பட்டு புடவை
A nine-yard silk-cotton bridal sari with small checks, woven at Koranad in Tamil NaduBlend · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaPuttapaka saree
A silk double-ikat saree tied and dyed by hand in Puttapaka village, Nalgonda.Silk · Ikat · Tie-dye
🇮🇳 IndiaBalaramapuram handloom
A fine undyed cotton weave with a golden kasavu zari border, hand-woven in KeralaCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKasaragod saree
A hard-wearing handloom cotton saree from Kasaragod district in KeralaCotton · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaChendamangalam saree
A fine cotton saree with a thin black tamarind-leaf border, handwoven in Kerala.Cotton · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaLambada embroidery
Mirror-and-cowrie hand embroidery by Banjara women of Karnataka and TelanganaEmbroidery · Appliqué
🇮🇳 IndiaPedana Kalamkari
Hand block-printing with plant dyes, centred on Pedana town in Andhra PradeshBlock print
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreChintzछींट
A painted or woodblock-printed floral cotton cloth originating in GolcondaCotton · Block print · Hand painting
🇮🇳 IndiaIlkal sari
A cotton saree with a loop-joined silk pallu and broad red border, from Ilkal, KarnatakaCotton · Zari work · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaTelia Rumal
Oil-treated yarn, ikat dyeing and plant colours, from Andhra Pradesh and TelanganaIkat
🇮🇳 IndiaToda embroiderypukhoor
Red and black thread embroidery on white cotton, worked by Toda women in the NilgirisCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaKasuti
Counted-thread folk embroidery from Karnataka, stitched on Ilkal and Mysore silk sareesCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaMadisarமடிசார்
A nine-yard Tamil drape tied close to a dhoti, worn by Brahmin women for ritesSilk
🇮🇳 IndiaGadwal sari
A handwoven Telangana sari with a cotton body, a silk border and a zari palluSilk · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaThirubuvanam silk sari
Silk saree from a Thanjavur district town, its border and pallu dense with zariSilk · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKhara Dupattaکھڑا دوپٹہ
A six-yard embroidered net veil draped over a wedding ensemble in HyderabadNet · Embroidery · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKalamkariVraata Pani
Cloth art from Andhra Pradesh, drawn with a pen or blocks and dyed with plant coloursCotton · Kalamkari · Hand painting
🇮🇳 IndiaKasavu
Kerala's off-white cotton cloth with a fine gold or silver border woven into itCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaMundum neriyathumമുണ്ട് നേരിയത്
A two-piece white cotton cloth of Kerala, worn with a golden border called kasavuCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaSrikalahasti Kalamkari
Freehand pen-drawn cloth art from Srikalahasti, Andhra Pradesh, painted with natural dyesKalamkari · Hand painting
🇮🇳 IndiaLanga voniలంగా వోణి
A two-piece half sari worn by girls in South India, a skirt with a short diagonal drapeSilk · Embroidery · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKovai Cora cotton
A handwoven cotton-silk saree from Coimbatore with bright bordersCotton · Zari work · Brocade
🇮🇳 IndiaOnnara
A handloom cotton underwrap from Kerala, tied tight beneath the saree or munduCotton
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mundum neriyathum: L. Anantha Krishna Iyer (Diwan Bahadur), Public domain, source
- Mundu: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Madras: Shweta Venkateswaran, CC0, source
- Kanchipuram sari: McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kandangi: RidahZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pochampally sari: Hermann Linde, Public domain, source
- Chattayum mundum: Alexander J. Mapleton, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Arani silk saree: Balu 606902, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Koorai silk sari: En.saravanan, CC BY 4.0, source
- Chendamangalam saree: Malluchronicle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lambada embroidery: Daderot, CC0, source
- Pedana Kalamkari: Sathishkagitha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chintz: Karun Thakar Collection photo. Work by unknown Coromandel artisans. Ph, Public domain, source
- Ilkal sari: T B Dinesh, CC0, source
- Kasuti: Kannadiga, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dupatta: Kinshuk Sunil, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kalamkari: Anilbhardwajnoida, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Langa voni: Kannadiga, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dharmavaram silk sari: Ch Maheswara Raju, CC BY-SA 4.0, source