There is no single Indian sari. There are dozens of distinct weaving traditions, each with its own silk or cotton, its own motifs, even its own way of being draped. Here is a traveller's map.
✨ Fun fact: India has well over a hundred regional sari traditions — and the way a sari is tied can change from one state to the next as much as the way it is woven.
We weave in Banaras, but we've always loved the whole map. The easiest way to make sense of it is to notice that almost every Indian sari belongs to one of three great families of patterning.
Three families of pattern
1. Pattern woven in. The motif is built thread by thread on the loom — the Banarasi brocade, the tapestry pallu of a Paithani, the figured cotton of a Bengal jamdani.
2. Pattern dyed into the thread. The yarn is resist-dyed before weaving, so the design appears as the cloth is woven — the ikats of Odisha, Pochampally and, most astonishingly, the double-ikat Patan patola.
3. Pattern added after weaving. The finished cloth is tie-dyed or printed — bandhani, leheriya, and the lightweight checks of Kota Doria.
A tour, region by region
North & East: the silk-and-gold Banarasi of Uttar Pradesh; Bengal's fine jamdani, crisp tant and narrative baluchari; Assam's golden muga and the mekhela chador; Odisha's sambalpuri and bomkai ikats.
West & Central: Maharashtra's Paithani, with its peacock-and-lotus pallu; Gujarat's double-ikat Patan patola and the bandhani-and-zari gharchola; Madhya Pradesh's airy Chanderi and Maheshwari; Rajasthan's sheer Kota Doria.
South: Tamil Nadu's heavy Kanjeevaram with its contrast korvai borders; the cotton-and-silk Gadwal, Narayanpet and Mangalagiri of the Telugu country; Karnataka's Ilkal; and Kerala's ivory-and-gold kasavu.
Why a map helps
Once you can place a sari in its family and its region, you read it differently — you see not just a pretty cloth but a technique, a place and a community of weavers. Each of these deserves its own story, and we'll keep adding them. For now, the jewel we know best is the Banarasi in all its varieties.
Shop these weaves at Khinkhwab
Many of these saris live in our own collection. Explore our Banarasi sarees, Chanderi, Paithani, Patola, Maheshwari and jamdani — each woven the traditional way.
Frequently asked questions
How many types of sari are there in India?
There is no fixed number, but well over a hundred distinct regional weaving and draping traditions are recognised — from the Banarasi to the Kanjeevaram, Paithani, patola, jamdani and many more.
What is the difference between a woven and an ikat sari?
In a woven-pattern sari (like a Banarasi) the motif is built on the loom with extra threads. In an ikat (like a patola) the threads are resist-dyed before weaving, so the pattern emerges as the cloth is woven.
Which is the most labour-intensive Indian sari?
Among the most demanding are the double-ikat Patan patola, where both warp and weft are tie-dyed in advance, and densely brocaded Banarasis — each can take many weeks to months.
Sources & further reading
- Rta Kapur Chishti, Saris of India series and Saris: Tradition and Beyond.
- Jasleen Dhamija, Indian Folk Arts and Crafts.
- Jaya Jaitly, Crafts Atlas of India.
