sari made of silk and zari. It is a plain weave, with weft figuring designs according to the principles of tapestry. Traditionally, Paithanis had a coloured, cotton muslin field that often contained considerable supplementary zari patterning. However, in the 19th century, silk fields were also woven. Materials used There are three types of silk threads used: Charkha: This is widely used. It is cheap, dull and uneven. Ciddle-Gatta: Fine quality silk, thin shear, shiny, smooth and even. China silk: Very expensive to use. This raw silk is cleansed with caustic soda, dyed in the requisite shades, the threads are carefully separated. Khari ( True / Real ) zari costs about Rs. 1800 for 250 grams. Golden threads are obtained from Surat, the quality being 1200 yard (1080 meters) per tola (11.664 grams). Gold threads are used in double and one of the finest varieties so much so that the closely woven surface looks like a mirror. The texture of the fabric is fairly compact with about 160 ends and 170 picks per inch (2.6 cm). Zari is a metallic yarn, made of pure silver. Originally, zari was manufactured in Yeola; Surat now being another zari-producing center. Initially, zari used in making Paithani was drawn from pure gold. However, silver is the affordable substitute today. Material assembly 20-22 denier-organized silk is used in warp, while twofold ply, very lightly twisted 30-32 silk is used for weft. The warp yarn cost Rs. 2900-3200 per kg whereas weft yarn costs Rs. 2400-3000 per kg. A single sari may weigh from 1.45 kg or more depending upon the weight of the silk and zari used. The warp is usually made in the peg or drums warping process and is tied in ball form at the back of loom. It is usually made for 2 pieces of sari and is about 11.5 meters in length. While coloured silk is mostly used in figure work, the solid border have extra weft figuring threads. The weft for borders and body being different, three shuttle weaving is adopted, two for border and one for plain body. The border therefore appears as separately woven and then stitched to the body of the sari. Some times a separate padar warp is twisted on the body. The end piece has fine silk. Warp threads are only of zari forming a golden ground upon which angular, brightly coloured silk designs are woven