Emerald Silk Kurta

Woven on a pit loom, which is exactly what it sounds like: the weaver sits with their legs in a pit dug beneath the loom, working the treadles by foot. It is an arrangement that predates the factory by a long way and survives because it produces a particular hand that power looms do not.

The buti is zari — a fine metallic thread worked into the weave rather than embroidered on top of it afterwards. That is why the motif is visible from the reverse, and why it does not catch and pull the way surface work does.

It holds its drape without lining. The weight is doing that work, which is the argument for silk of this quality over a lighter cloth propped up with interfacing. It also means it should be aired rather than pressed hard, and hung rather than folded.