Ghicha Silk Sarees from Shatika

Ghicha Silk is a high quality fabric, which is popular for its natural luster. This high quality natural fabric makes Ghicha silk sarees the most durable and long lasting besides their numerous other features like lightweight, shrinkage free and smooth texture that make them the most demanding sarees today. Actually a by product of tussar silk, Ghicha silk is produced in eastern states of India like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The yarns of Ghicha silk are obtained from cocoons of tussar silk that cannot have the silk yarns reeled naturally and hence these cocoons are ruptured and the silk is reeled manually.

Ghicha silk is obtained mostly from pierced, cut, flimsy, insect damaged and double cocoons. The cooking process for the production of gicha yarn is the same as for the reeled yarn produced from good cocoons. Cooked tassar cocoons which are unreelable owing to opening of the peduncle end or a hard shell are also used to produce the hand-drawn coarse yarn called ‘ghicha’. Here a bunch of thread is pulled out by hand from one or two cocoons at a time and reeled on an earthen pot. This gives a coarse variety of untwisted thread of 4s to 6s. Finer ghicha as high as 30s can also be spun. Ghicha yarn is used as weft for the production of various union fabrics in combination with reeled silk or Katia or even with cotton. Ghicha or Khewa are the names given to yarns that are not dyed when Tussar silk is reeled.

GichaSaree is a versatile saree that suits every occasion. Popular for its texture and weaving patterns, the way it is weaved and combined with other textures decides the mood of the occasion. For example, Ghicha sarees in pleasing colors with golden booties and double printed borders with an elegant pallu make for gracious and presentable wear for traditional occasions. Designer ghicha silk sarees with embroidery booties and designer patola or gota borders look spectacular and can be worn on festivals, family get-togethers and parties. Simple Ghicha sarees with simple stripes and booties look sober and make for great work wear. Fancy prints of block, batik and gold prints on gicha saris look beautiful.  While Gicha silk saree embellished with zari patchwork and zari border has been around for long and makes for a stylish wear for special occasions, the latest fashion in ghicha sarees is multi-thread embroidery, kundans and sequins work.

Along with its use in making lustrous sarees, Ghicha silk is also used in home decor like cushion covers, pillow covers, bed sheets, curtains, throws, duvet covers, bedspreads and blanket covers.Ghicha silk fabrics are greatly made use of in apparel sector too. Well known for its purity and linear weaving texture, Ghicha silk fabrics are accessible in quite a few colors and patterns as per demand. They are pre- dyed with specially chosen colors to achieve long-lasting beauty.