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 2Kanchipuram 2Machilipatnam 2Pedana 2Srikalahasti 2Arani 1Bellary 1Bhoodan Pochampally 1Bhuvanagiri 1Bijapur 1Calicut 1Chendamangalam 1Chennai 1Chettinad 1Chirala 1Choutuppala 1Coimbatore 1Dharmavaram 1Erode 1Gadwal 1Golconda 1Ilkal 1Jouy-en-Josas 1Kakinada 1Kappaladoddi 1Kasaragod 1Koranad 1Koyalgudam 1Kuthampully 1Madrasapattinam 1Mangalagiri 1Mayiladuthurai 1Nagercoil 1Nalgonda 1Narayanpet 1Nilgiris 1Polavaram 1Samsthan Narayanpuram 1Sanduru 1Siripuram 1Sirumugai 1Thanjavur 1Thirubuvanam 1Thiruvananthapuram 1Tiruppur 1Uppada 1AndimadamBengaluru and the Karnataka silk beltCoimbatore and KovaiElaiyurGattuppalaHubliKallathurKaraikudi and the Chettinad townsKumbakonam and ThirubuvanamKuthampallyMaduraiMolakalmuruMysoreMysuruOttapalamPalakkadPochampallyPondicherryRamanagaraSalemSengunthapuramThrissurVariyankavalVenkatagiri
🇮🇳 IndiaMadisarமடிசார்
A nine-yard Tamil Brahmin sari drape, worn over one shoulder for ceremoniesSilk
🇮🇳 IndiaSrikalahasti kalamkari
A Kalamkari style of dyed hand-painting on cloth, made in Srikalahasti, Andhra PradeshKalamkari · Hand painting
🇮🇳 IndiaMundum neriyathumമുണ്ട് നേരിയത്
Kerala's two-piece cotton wrap: a lower mundu and an upper neriyathuCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaDharmavaram silk sari
A handwoven Andhra silk sari in mulberry silk and zari, made only on pit loomsSilk · Zari work · Tie-dye
🇮🇳 IndiaKoorai silk sariகூரை பட்டு புடவை
A nine-yard silk and cotton bridal sari from Koranad, checked, for Tamil Hindu weddingsSilk · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaKasaragod saree
A handwoven cotton sari from Kasaragod, Kerala, made for everyday wearCotton · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaPochampally sari
A Telangana handloom saree whose geometric motifs come from dyed-then-woven ikat yarnsSilk · Ikat
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMundu
A cotton garment wrapped around the waist in Kerala and the MaldivesCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaKhara Dupattaکھڑا دوپٹہ
A six-yard embroidered net veil draped over a wedding ensemble in HyderabadNet · Embroidery · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKasavu
A Kerala handloom cloth with fine gold or silver border lines on white cottonCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKanchipuram sari
A silk sari from Kanchipuram with a separate contrast border locked onto the bodySilk · Zari work · Temple border
🇮🇳 IndiaChendamangalam saree
A hand-woven Kerala cotton sari with a dark tamarind-leaf line at its edgeCotton · Zari work · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaKandangi
A checked cotton saree from Chettinad, Tamil Nadu, with a wide contrasting borderCotton · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaPedana Kalamkari
Vegetable-dyed, block-printed cloth from Pedana, near Machilipatnam in Andhra PradeshKalamkari · Block print
🇮🇳 IndiaKovai Cora cotton
A handwoven cotton-silk saree from the Coimbatore region of Tamil NaduCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaUppada Jamdani sari
A light handwoven silk sari from Uppada, Andhra Pradesh, with motifs on both facesSilk · Jamdani · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKalamkari
A pen-drawn textile art from Andhra Pradesh, coloured with natural dyesCotton · Kalamkari · Block print
🇮🇳 IndiaMangalagiri sari
A cotton sari from Mangalagiri with a zari border and a plain bodyCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaToda embroidery
Red and black counted embroidery on white cotton, worked by Toda women of the NilgirisCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaTelia Rumal
An ikat craft that oils the yarn before dyeing it, once made at ChiralaIkat
🇮🇳 IndiaBalaramapuram handloom
Cotton handloom cloth from Kerala, finished with a golden zari kasavu borderCotton · Zari work · Brocade
🇮🇳 IndiaKasuti
Hand-counted embroidery from Karnataka, worked without knots on sarees and blousesEmbroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaLambada embroidery
Mirror-and-cowrie hand embroidery by Banjara women of Karnataka and TelanganaAppliqué · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaPuttapaka sari
A silk ikat saree from Puttapaka village, with patterns tied into the warpSilk · Ikat · Tie-dye
🇮🇳 IndiaIlkal sari
A Karnataka sari with a cotton body and a loop-joined silk palluCotton · Embroidery · Zari work
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreChintzछींट
A painted or woodblock-printed floral cotton cloth originating in GolcondaCotton · Block print · Hand painting
🇮🇳 IndiaGadwal sari
A handwoven sari from Telangana with a cotton body, silk border and zari palluCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaChattayum mundumചട്ടയും മുണ്ടും
A two-piece white cotton dress of Kerala's Syrian Christian womenCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreMadras
A light handwoven cotton cloth of bright checks, named after the city of ChennaiCotton · Checks and stripes · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaThirubuvanam silk sari
A Thanjavur district silk sari with a wide zari border and matching palluSilk · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaArani silk saree
A silk saree woven in Arani, Tamil Nadu, and noted for its zari thread workSilk · Zari work · Block print
🇮🇳 IndiaLanga voniలంగా వోణి
A South Indian half sari: a string-tied skirt and a short diagonal upper clothSilk · Embroidery · Mirror work
🇮🇳 IndiaOnnara
A cotton undergarment tied tightly at the waist by Hindu women in KeralaCotton
🇮🇳 IndiaSrikalahasti kalamkari
A Kalamkari style of dyed hand-painting on cloth, made in Srikalahasti, Andhra PradeshKalamkari · Hand painting
🇮🇳 IndiaMundum neriyathumമുണ്ട് നേരിയത്
Kerala's two-piece cotton wrap: a lower mundu and an upper neriyathuCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaDharmavaram silk sari
A handwoven Andhra silk sari in mulberry silk and zari, made only on pit loomsSilk · Zari work · Tie-dye
🇮🇳 IndiaKoorai silk sariகூரை பட்டு புடவை
A nine-yard silk and cotton bridal sari from Koranad, checked, for Tamil Hindu weddingsSilk · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaKasaragod saree
A handwoven cotton sari from Kasaragod, Kerala, made for everyday wearCotton · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaPochampally sari
A Telangana handloom saree whose geometric motifs come from dyed-then-woven ikat yarnsSilk · Ikat
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMundu
A cotton garment wrapped around the waist in Kerala and the MaldivesCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaKhara Dupattaکھڑا دوپٹہ
A six-yard embroidered net veil draped over a wedding ensemble in HyderabadNet · Embroidery · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKasavu
A Kerala handloom cloth with fine gold or silver border lines on white cottonCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKanchipuram sari
A silk sari from Kanchipuram with a separate contrast border locked onto the bodySilk · Zari work · Temple border
🇮🇳 IndiaChendamangalam saree
A hand-woven Kerala cotton sari with a dark tamarind-leaf line at its edgeCotton · Zari work · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaKandangi
A checked cotton saree from Chettinad, Tamil Nadu, with a wide contrasting borderCotton · Checks and stripes
🇮🇳 IndiaPedana Kalamkari
Vegetable-dyed, block-printed cloth from Pedana, near Machilipatnam in Andhra PradeshKalamkari · Block print
🇮🇳 IndiaKovai Cora cotton
A handwoven cotton-silk saree from the Coimbatore region of Tamil NaduCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaUppada Jamdani sari
A light handwoven silk sari from Uppada, Andhra Pradesh, with motifs on both facesSilk · Jamdani · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaKalamkari
A pen-drawn textile art from Andhra Pradesh, coloured with natural dyesCotton · Kalamkari · Block print
🇮🇳 IndiaMangalagiri sari
A cotton sari from Mangalagiri with a zari border and a plain bodyCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaToda embroidery
Red and black counted embroidery on white cotton, worked by Toda women of the NilgirisCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaTelia Rumal
An ikat craft that oils the yarn before dyeing it, once made at ChiralaIkat
🇮🇳 IndiaBalaramapuram handloom
Cotton handloom cloth from Kerala, finished with a golden zari kasavu borderCotton · Zari work · Brocade
🇮🇳 IndiaKasuti
Hand-counted embroidery from Karnataka, worked without knots on sarees and blousesEmbroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaLambada embroidery
Mirror-and-cowrie hand embroidery by Banjara women of Karnataka and TelanganaAppliqué · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaPuttapaka sari
A silk ikat saree from Puttapaka village, with patterns tied into the warpSilk · Ikat · Tie-dye
🇮🇳 IndiaIlkal sari
A Karnataka sari with a cotton body and a loop-joined silk palluCotton · Embroidery · Zari work
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreChintzछींट
A painted or woodblock-printed floral cotton cloth originating in GolcondaCotton · Block print · Hand painting
🇮🇳 IndiaGadwal sari
A handwoven sari from Telangana with a cotton body, silk border and zari palluCotton · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaChattayum mundumചട്ടയും മുണ്ടും
A two-piece white cotton dress of Kerala's Syrian Christian womenCotton · Embroidery
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreMadras
A light handwoven cotton cloth of bright checks, named after the city of ChennaiCotton · Checks and stripes · Embroidery
🇮🇳 IndiaThirubuvanam silk sari
A Thanjavur district silk sari with a wide zari border and matching palluSilk · Zari work
🇮🇳 IndiaArani silk saree
A silk saree woven in Arani, Tamil Nadu, and noted for its zari thread workSilk · Zari work · Block print
🇮🇳 IndiaLanga voniలంగా వోణి
A South Indian half sari: a string-tied skirt and a short diagonal upper clothSilk · Embroidery · Mirror work
🇮🇳 IndiaOnnara
A cotton undergarment tied tightly at the waist by Hindu women in KeralaCotton
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Madras: Shweta Venkateswaran, CC0, source
- Srikalahasti kalamkari: Anilbhardwajnoida, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mundum neriyathum: L. Anantha Krishna Iyer (Diwan Bahadur), Public domain, source
- Dharmavaram silk sari: Ch Maheswara Raju, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Koorai silk sari: En.saravanan, CC BY 4.0, source
- Pochampally sari: Hermann Linde, Public domain, source
- Mundu: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
- Khara Dupatta: Kinshuk Sunil, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kanchipuram sari: McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chendamangalam saree: Malluchronicle, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kandangi: RidahZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pedana Kalamkari: Sathishkagitha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kasuti: Kannadiga, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lambada embroidery: Daderot, CC0, source
- Ilkal sari: T B Dinesh, CC0, source
- Chintz: Karun Thakar Collection photo. Work by unknown Coromandel artisans. Ph, 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
- Langa voni: Kannadiga, CC BY-SA 3.0, source