Tussar silk

What is Tussar silk?

Tussar is a wild silk. Its yarn comes from the cocoons of Antheraea silkworms that live uncaged on forest trees of the Terminalia group and on Shorea robusta, jamun and oak. The cocoons are single-shelled and oval. The silk inside is a natural deep gold with a dull sheen, and it feels more textured than mulberry silk, the cultivated kind. Its fibres are shorter, so cloth from it wears out sooner. Because most cocoons are gathered from the forest, many people count tussar as a forest product. Tribal families tend much of India's crop, and handloom weavers make the cloth. Of everything made from it, the saree matters most; the yarn also feeds pattachitra painting, kantha embroidery, furnishings and stitched clothes.

Where does Tussar silk come from?

Tussar carries an old Sanskrit name, kosa. China, Japan, Sri Lanka and India all produce varieties today. India ranks second among producer countries and is the only home of Indian tussar, also called tropical tussar, much of it tended by tribal families. Bhagalpur in Bihar has woven it for over a century; the trade now runs on about 30,000 handloom weavers at some 25,000 looms, and roughly half the output is exported. Jharkhand has lately grown into the biggest producer, while Malda district in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh also make the silk. Chemical dyes have widened the colours, and designers now carry tussar garments to markets worldwide.

How is Tussar silk made?

Rearing begins in the forest. To harvest the silk, rearers dry the cocoon in the sun, which kills the silkworm inside. A gentler route lets the moth push its way out first; the empty cocoons are then plunged into boiling water to soften them, and the fibres are reeled off. Boiling matters either way: it loosens the cocoon so the yarn can be drawn. Silk from cocoons boiled after the moth has left is sold as nonviolent, or Ahimsa, silk. In China the worm's diet even changes the name of the silk: zhe comes from wild mulberry, hu from the oak Quercus dentata. The yarn has shorter fibres than mulberry silk and is woven on handlooms, above all in Bhagalpur.

Colours, motifs and borders

Undyed, tussar is a natural deep gold with a dull sheen, and its surface feels more textured than mulberry silk because the fibres are shorter. Chemical dyes have widened the colour range, so dyed shades now sit beside the natural gold. Much tussar stays plain, letting the texture speak; when it is decorated, the work usually comes from other crafts. Kantha workers in West Bengal cover the cloth in running stitch, and pattachitra painters in Odisha take it as their ground.

How Tussar silk is worn

Tussar reaches wearers above all as a saree, the product the trade counts as its most important. The same cloth is also stitched into apparel, worked into handicrafts and made up as furnishing fabric. No special drape is attached to it; it is worn the way sarees generally are, wrapped and pleated around the body. Precisely finished designer garments in tussar are exported worldwide.

Styles of Tussar silk

The names shift with place and process. Indian tussar, or tropical tussar, is tended largely by tribal rearers and grows nowhere but India. The Bhagalpur weave is known simply as Bhagalpur silk. In China, silk from worms fed on wild mulberry is named zhe, while oak-fed worms give hu; diet shapes the quality of the yarn. Cocoons boiled only after the moth has emerged yield Ahimsa silk, also sold as nonviolent silk. Away from cloth, tussar's short fibres are dissolved in lye water and stirred into soap, which then feels slippery and more luxurious.

What Tussar silk means

Tussar supports a wide circle of livelihoods. Tribal families tend the wild cocoons across the producing states, and in Bhagalpur alone around 30,000 handloom weavers work some 25,000 looms, with roughly half the city's silk trade going abroad. Because most cocoons are gathered from forest trees, many see tussar as a forest product first, a crop of the wild rather than of the farm. Jharkhand's rise as the biggest producer has spread the work to new districts, and designer garments have carried the cloth to markets worldwide.

Questions people ask about Tussar silk

Good reading and sources

• Tussar silk on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data