Sooriya Weaving still produces its cloth using the traditional “handloom” method. A “handloom” is a loom is used to weave cloth without the use of any electricity. Hand weaving is done on frame looms, interlacing two sets of yarn – the warp (length) and the weft (width) – using only the physical effort of the weaver. Handloom weaving is an ancient craft that’s as vibrant and alive today as it was thousands of years ago.
Although the process of spinning the dyed cotton onto bobbins is now undertaken using machines (many of them built by Sooriya Weaving), even this process can be accomplished by a hand. All other aspects of production at Sooriya Weaving (dying the yarn, winding the warp onto rollers the width of the final cloth, and the weaving itself, are undertaken by hand. It’s a process that requires, enormous effort and application, and the weavers at Sooriya have decades of experience.
