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Sungudi Cotton
Sungudi takes its name from the small round dots that Saurashtrian dyers brought with them to Madurai when they settled there under the Nayak kings, tying grains of rice into the cloth so the knots resisted the dye and left a scatter of pale circles behind. The cotton underneath is as much the point as the pattern: woven fine and open for a city where the heat rarely lets up, soft enough to wear all day and to wash again and again. Madurai Sungudi now carries a geographical indication, which protects the name against screen printed imitations that copy the dots without the tying. The same cloth takes a hand carved block beautifully, which is how these sarees are printed.
- Woven in
- Madurai, Tami Nadu
- Signature
- Feather light Madurai handloom cotton, named for the tie dyed dots that made it a southern summer staple
Sungudi Cotton pieces
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How to tell a real Sungudi Cotton
Hold the cloth up to the light first. Real Sungudi cotton is open and airy enough to see through, which is exactly what makes it bearable in a Madurai summer; a heavier, tighter cloth is not Sungudi whatever the pattern says. On a hand blocked saree look for the printer's own marks, faint overlaps where one block meets the next and colour that sits down in the fibre rather than on top of it. Where the dots are tie dyed rather than printed they wander slightly in size and spacing, because each one is a knot tied by hand, and they read as clearly on the reverse as on the face. A screen printed imitation sits only on the front and repeats with machine evenness.
Wearing it
Sungudi is an everyday saree first and is happiest worn that way, with a crisp cotton blouse, flat sandals and silver. The cloth is light enough to pleat small and sharp, so it holds a neat drape through a long day in the heat without the weight of a silk. Oxidised silver or terracotta picks up the madder and indigo in the dye far better than gold does. Starch it lightly if you like the fabric to stand away from you, or skip the starch and let it fall soft and close instead.
Looking after it
Dry clean recommended - If washing at home hand wash separately in cold water with a mild detergent - Do not bleach or wring - Dry in shade away from direct sunlight - Iron on low heat and avoid the zari border
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