Eri Extra Weft

Eri silk also known as Ahimsa silk or peace silk is one of the major types of indigenous silks produced in Assam and some parts of north-east India. It is known as Ahimsa silk as the eri silk larva is allowed to transform into a moth and escape the cocoon first, then the open-ended cocoon is used for harvesting the silk. It has short staple fibres. So, eri silk fibres have to be spun into yarns instead of reeling like those in other silks.

Eri silk is soft and wool-like in texture. It generally has a matte finish but some eri silk have a gentle sheen. It is very sturdy and durable. It is very popular for making shawls, stoles, mekhela sadors, saris and nowadays modern apparels in eri silk are also getting popular.

Extra weft weaving in Assam is a traditional handloom technique used to create raised, low-relief patterns on a plain base fabric. Artisans use traditional throw-shuttle looms or fly-shuttle looms to interlace supplementary yarns across warp threads to create beautiful motifs.