Dhurrie
These simple, weft-faced flat weaves are woven in all regions of Indian by all of the casts
and religious groups traditionally associated with weaving. They are used by all of the major
communities – Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh - and are common in both rural and urban areas. Dhurrie
perform a number of functions, which are indicated by their size, they can be used as bed durries,
communal prayer carpets, and gatherings at weddings, feasts and canopied tents.
Although Dhurrie weaving may involve a number of different techniques, all Indian cotton Dhurrie is
woven in the same weft-faced simple tabby weave that is used in kilims. The coloured patterns of the most
common design, simple stripes, are produced by warp-sharing techniques such as dovetailing and double
interlocking. Small designs may utilize slit-tapestry weaving and the more complicated curvilinear
elements of the pictorial Dhurrie even use ‘eccentric’ wefting which curves around the motifs.
