My Postgraduate Degree Project (2019) explored the materiality and trans-seasonality of Australian Merino wool using India's rich craft legacies. Sponsored by Woolmark Services India Pvt. Ltd., a range of natural dyed and handwoven fabrics were developed targeting the premium, womenswear segment.
I worked with three handloom clusters based in West Bengal, Gujarat and Uttarakhand. Each cluster came with its own set of opportunities, challenges and limitations. The project has been documented here in four parts. Part 1 is focused on my first phase of explorations carried out in West Bengal.
My sponsor wished to encourage the Indian handloom sector to use finer Merino wool yarn counts than the now common 2/60 Nm. So, I was given pre-dyed 2/80 Nm Merino wool hanks in four natural colours to experiment with.
I used the yarns to understand the limitations of the loom, capabilities of the weaver and his processes, as well as to explore various material combinations with other natural fibers, like cotton, silk, linen and hemp.
In West Bengal, I worked with Rashtriya Khadi Udyog (Katwa). Their expertise lay in producing fine handwoven cotton fabrics, Jamdani stoles, saris and yardages. They mostly worked with 100 Ne mill-spun cotton yarns. They had only recently started using Merino wool, but in limited scale.
The warp plan consisted of two designs - one with 100% Merino wool and another blended with 100 Ne cotton yarns. The idea was to explore different fabric weights using the same Merino wool yarn count. Also, the two designs were warped together to maximize the outcome from one warp.
The weaver in Katwa began by converting the hanks into bobbins for warping. Natural dyeing had weakened the Merino wool yarns. Hence, prior to making bobbins the hanks had to be starched to give them strength.
The hanks were submerged in a starch solution extracted from boiling sabudana (Tapioca pearl). They were then allowed to dry naturally and converted into bobbins.
The Merino wool yarns were warped on a warping drum, using the sectional warping technique.
The complete warp was transferred onto the warp beam, which was vertically suspended along with lease rods, shafts and reed, for simultaneous drafting and denting.
In the cluster, all weaving was done on a 2 shafts pit loom. Same was used for the Merino wool warp. Only plain weave with hand inserted extra-weft motifs were possible.
Hence, variety was produced by different weft stripe patterns as well as material combinations. Blends with Mulberry silk and Khadi cotton offered exciting possibilities for future developments.
Merino wool-silk was light (103 GSM), translucent, with a sheen and crisp handle. Wool-cotton samples were also lightweight, smoother and thinner than pure Merino wool samples, along with a softer drape. All 100% Merino wool samples weighed more than 200 GSM.
Starch was removed from the samples by washing with Ezee in cold water. Once dry, they were ironed using a home electronic iron at temperature setting for wool.
Above, Left: Merino wool + Mulberry silk, Right: 100% Merino wool
Above, Left: Merino wool + Mulberry silk, Right: Merino wool + Mulberry silk + Zari
Above, Left: Merino wool + Cotton, Right: Merino wool + Cotton
