Decorating the surrounding is human instinct. People strive to make the places of their living/functioning more beautiful and soothing with attractive colors . And with rapid growth in awareness of style and fashion, majority of them express themselves with unique tools and accessories. Durries have been created and used for covering and decorating areas in homes, study places, offices, functions etc since ages.
A durrie, is essentially a cotton woven thick floor covering. Besides cotton, jute, rayon and chenille are also used as raw materials to weave different and custom durries as per the requirement. The weaving is carried out manually by skilled artisans on a traditional horizontal loom or vertical loom. Sometimes even pit looms are used, but they are not common.
In India, Durry weaving is one of the very common and ancient crafts that is passed on from generation to generation, sometimes because of typical customs like as a gift or offering during important occasions like marriages etc. Many states are particularly famous for their skills and the distinctive durries they make. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, make distinctive type of durries. Warangal in Andhra Pradesh and Bhavani in Tamil Nadu are also famous for floor coverings.
A durry weaving includes steps like Sourcing, Yarns and design preparation, pre-weaving activities, hand knotting, edge finishing and surface finishing.
Sourcing includes getting yarns for warp/weft, arrangement of a loom and other required tools. Yarn and design preparation involves yarn dying and drafting a durry design on a paper. Then in pre-weaving steps, Bobbin/shuttle winding and warp preparation is carried out. The weft yarn is then inserted in pile format. The colors are used as per the design draft and the piece is completed. A blade, scissors and crescent-shaped knife are all used to trim excess weft threads, which may protrude from the rugs surface. The needle and awl are used to pry loose unwanted material (such as hair, straw or fluff) trapped between the wefts during weaving. Washing and finishing follow this.
The end product – durry – has the same design woven on both the sides! It is strong and washable.
Durries are used as floor-coverings plus they decorate places. They have a low maintenance cost as they do not get infected by Silverfish or other insects responsible for destroying carpets. Available in various sizes, they are easily portable being light weight and foldable. They come in variety of color combinations and patterns catering to the needs of every taste or occasion.
WhatsApp us