Lines from the Loom Collection

SR by Sonali Raman brings you Lines From the Loom, a collection of dresses and kaftans inspired by the upcycling practices adopted by the west during the World Wars.

Traditionally, European and North American grain sacks were made from homespun yarn and handwoven fabrics, usually hemp and linen, using the crops that were cultivated on the farm. Farmers ‘branded’ their sacks using a unique striping system that combined colors and patterns, as well as family monograms.

During the war years, not only was food in short supply, but also other essentials like textiles; people were forced to look at creative options for their apparel and thus started the trend of upcycling grain and feed sacks to make dresses and home furnishings.

In keeping with our core value of supporting traditional textiles, the fabric for this collection has been custom woven at a handloom cluster in Central India. The weavers were introduced to working with linen and after several experiments and design interventions we arrived at the perfect combination of using dyed cotton yarn in the warp and undyed linen yarn in the weft. The grain-sack stripes woven in bright colors provide a perfect foil for the muted and dark-toned mélange shaded fabrics.

The silhouettes are A-line midi and knee-length dresses, and kaftans in minimalistic everyday shapes. The strategically placed borders give the garments an avant-garde look and our signature chevron motifs hugging the necklines complete the looks!

Lines From the Loom’s color palette for the base fabrics are a pale pinkish almond, a light duck green and deep shades of navy and taupe. The grain-sack stripes are in bright yellow, orange, pink, as well as teal and olive.

Lines From the Loom is available in sizes S-M and L-XL. The Kaftans are free size.