security blanket

Thought behind the thought: 

We love to hold on to things that make us feel secure. No matter how old or tattered they get we can't bring ourselves to part from them. Old pair of pyjamas or a weather-beaten blanket provides us with a comfort that unparalleled with any designer piece of clothing. Yet sometimes these security blankets are people, jobs or homes and we can’t seem to part with them that easily. There is a good chance that if we let go and take the plunge we may get a fresh new start that takes away all the monotony and humdrum of day to day life.

About The Art: 

Rummaging through old blankets and sweaters, I was trying to find things to donate to an NGO run by a friend. In India we have a very peculiar lot of blankets that one will not ever find elsewhere in the world. Godhadis', Rajais’, Dupptis' and Panghrunas are some Marathi words that mean blankets. Each is made in its own peculiar style. While Godhadis' and Dupptis' are made from recycled cloth from Saris and Shawls, Panghruns or Chaddars are cotton blankets woven in mills on looms. Typically “Solapuri Chaddars”or Panghruns are manufactured in a city called Solapur in Maharashtra, India. Srimant Madhavrao Peshve was a historical leader that invited weavers from Andhara Pradesh to Solapur for establishing the industry. The city has has grown into a strong industry in the last 150 years.

Solapur is the world's second largest and Asia’s number one city with maximum power mills.It boasts of having about 16,000 power looms in the city. Job opportunities to 40,000-45000 people in the city have been created. A 100% cotton yarn is used in the manufacturing of Chaddars.

Some of the steps involved in making the chaddar or Panghrun are as follows:

A traditional loom

1. Yarn is first assembled on the doubling machine where two strands of thread are made into one to give it strength.
2. Further they are wound onto bobbins.
3. After the doubling machine the thread is put on a rolling machine to convert them into hangs or latkans.
4. The hangs are sent for colouring to the dyeing section of the mill.
5. The pure white cotton yarn is dyed into several attractive and bright colors in the dyeing unit.
6. The coloured hangs are squeezed to remove any trace of excess water and are then left to dry out in the bright sun outdoors.
7. Designers make patterns which are punched on to a hardboard sheet.
8. The hardboard sheet with the punched design is called Jacquard , the sheets are also known as Jacquard Sheets because of the designs they carry.
9. The Jacquard sheet is installed in the upper part of the loom.
10. In the power looms the yarn is wrapped on bar or beams and passes through the coded Jacquard.
11. It comes down right up to the weft where the shuttle facilitates the weaving of the straight and cross threads to entwine properly.
12. The threads are perfectly interlocked and the pattern starts to take form and shape.
13. The sheets are available in lighter and heavier versions depending on amount of yarn used in the manufacturing process.

Credits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWHRu7f9iDc

http://softped1a.net/files/loom%20parts%20diagram&id=mix

http://www.craftsvilla.com/catalog/product/view/_ignore_category/1/id/546527/s/solapur-chaddar/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWHRu7f9iDc