The temple silk of Kanchipuram.
Kanjivaram (or Kanchipuram) silk weaving is traditionally said to descend from Sage Markandeya, the mythological weaver of the gods. The textile's recorded history stretches back at least four centuries, when the Devanga and Saliyar weaving communities settled around the temple town of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu under the Chola and later Vijayanagara kings.
The town hosts more than 60,000 looms and produces what is widely considered the most durable bridal silk in India — Kanjivarams have been documented to survive a century of careful use.
Three shuttles, one pitni join.
The Kanjivaram's defining technique is the korvai three-shuttle weave: the body, the contrast border, and the pallu can each be a different colour, each woven with its own shuttle, joined by an interlocking technique called pitni. Hold a Kanjivaram up to the light and you can see the seam where the silks meet — a row of tiny zigzag teeth.
The silk is pure mulberry; the zari is the protected GI composition of 65% silver and 0.6% gold, drawn over a silk core. A bridal Kanjivaram weighs over a kilogram.
How to spot a real one.
- 01 Pitni seam The three-shuttle interlock between body and border shows as a row of fine zigzag teeth when held up to light. Power-loom Kanjivarams have a continuous machine weave with no interlock.
- 02 Zari mark Real Kanjivaram zari carries the Silk Mark hologram and the GI label, usually stitched into the fall.
- 03 Weight A genuine Kanjivaram is among the heaviest Indian silks — under-weight (≤500g) versions are silk-cotton blends, not pure Kanchipuram silk.
- 04 Pinch the silk Genuine Kanchipuram silk has a slight crunch and rebounds without permanent crease. Polyester or art-silk crumples and stays creased.
- 05 Border continuity A real Kanjivaram's border continues from selvedge to selvedge with no breaks or seams except the pitni join.
Living with it.
- Always dry-clean
- Water unstuck the zari's silver-silk core. Use a silk-specialist dry cleaner once a year for unworn pieces.
- Cotton sleeve, not plastic
- Store rolled in muslin or unbleached cotton. Plastic traps moisture and accelerates zari tarnish.
- Annual airing
- Once a year, unroll in shade for a few hours. This prevents fold-line dry rot.
- Never iron the zari
- A hot iron melts the zari's core. Steam from underneath, never direct heat on the metallic surfaces.