Changes With Time

In the Mughal period, most likely during the reign of either Emperor Akbar or Emperor Jahangir, the figured or flowered muslin came to be known as the Jamdani. The designs and colors have changed with time. Originally the motifs used to be made on gray fabric. Later on fabrics of other colors were also used. In the 1960's, Jamdani work on red fabric became very popular. The Victoria and Albert Museum of London has a fine collection Jamdani with work in white on white fabric. The production methods have also changed. Previously, popcorn,rice or barley was used for starch. Before making Jamdani, the designers used to dye their yarn and starch it. For dye they used flowers and leaves if creepers. For quality Jamdani they used yarn of 200 to 250 counts. These days weavers buy fine yarn from the market and use chemical dyes instead of herbal dyes. Finally, time has also influenced the designs. Keeping up the modern demand, present day Jamdani sarees have on their ground designs of rose,jasmine,lotus, bunches of bananas, bunches of ginger and sago.