About Kalamkari

The Name KALAMKARI  commences in the Persian and this is derived from the words qalam(PEN) and Kari(CRAFTSMANSHIP) it means DRAWING WITH PEN. It is a type of cotton and silk textile which is Hand Painted or Block Printed. This type of material is produced in Iran and India, in this material production only Natural Dyes are used, production process includes Seventeen Major steps.

History of Kalamkari

This was initially started in Iran Sasani Era which is nearly 2500 years ago in This there are two peculiar styles in India one is Srikalahasti and another one is Machilipatnam style. The difference between Srikalahasti and Machilipatnam style was Srikalahasti style was purely freehand designs and hand worked and is seen around temples and their outer layers, it has a religious identity in this style filling of colors is also done by hands only the textiles literally painted with pens which are made out of bamboo and cotton. whereas Machilipatnam, kalamkari which is also known as Pedana Kalamkari evolved with the encouragement of Mughals and Golconda Sultanates, in this type line drawing is done with a  pen and transferred onto wooden blocks which are carved and then used to print on fabric.

Types Of Kalamkari

Pedana Kalamkari involves vegetable dyed block painting. It was produced at Pedana Village near Machilipatnam Krishna District Andhra Pradesh, under handicrafts goods it was registered as one of the Geographical indications of goods act 1999. This style mainly uses vegetable dyes which are applied to the fabric with the help of wooden blocks. Different textile products produced from this type of style mainly includes wall hangings and curtains. In Machilipatnam kalamkari production is moved in commercial workshops where all the workers make production under a single roof.

Kalamkari is becoming popular day by day the reason behind this is now a day's most numbers of people across the globe are not interested to use chemicals in manufacturing and production so This Textile emerges as a perfect craft which uses only Natural Dyes avoiding chemicals in its production and still produces beautiful outfits in wide range of varieties like sarees, dresses, Kurtis, wall hangings, bed sheets, and curtains.