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A weaver at the pit loom, hands at the tope teni pallu, low warm light

Ilkal Sarees, Woven on Our Own Looms

From weaver to wearer, with nothing in between. Our own looms in Betigeri, four generations on.

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Our Story

A Legacy Woven in Time

The family did not begin here. It began in Hanumasagar with a few looms and a field, and it came to Betigeri with nothing, when the village stopped being safe to stay in.

What was rebuilt here was rebuilt on the loom. Two hundred of them in time, and a living for some three hundred households in and around Betigeri.

We design what we weave, we weave to order, and we sell direct. You can still be told the name of the person who made your saree.

The Full Story
A maroon and zari saree on a mannequin against a dark ground
Maker, Not Merchant

We make what we sell

Most places that sell sarees buy them in. We weave ours. The looms are ours, the weavers are people we know by name, and nothing here was bought from somewhere else and given our label.

  • 1 Quality is settled at the loomWe choose the yarn and set the warp ourselves. A fault is caught on the loom, where it can still be fixed. Not at the counter, where it can only be argued about.
  • 2 The designs are our ownWe draw them, and we put them on the loom. It is why you will not find the same saree in the next shop, and why a pattern from our grandfather's time can still be woven on request.
  • 3 We can weave what you ask forA colour, a border, a length. A manufacturer can put it on a loom. A shop can only look for it on a shelf.
  • 4 Nothing sits between the loom and youBasava Silk Creations was founded on a single principle: sold direct by the weavers. Four generations on, it still holds.

Tell us what you are looking for

The Craft

What makes an Ilkal an Ilkal

Not every saree is an Ilkal saree. These are the three things that make one, and the reasons we still make them the way we do.

The tope teni pallu in close detail

The Tope Teni Pallu

The signature pallu, woven in red with a distinctive arrowhead pattern that identifies an Ilkal saree at a glance. It is woven separately and then joined to the body.

The kondi join, warp threads interlooped by hand

The Kondi Technique

Body and pallu are joined loop through loop by hand, rather than stitched together. This join is unique to the Ilkal weave, and it is what makes the saree a single continuous cloth.

Hands at the warp, cotton body meeting the silk border

Cotton Body, Silk Border

A cotton or cotton-silk body carries a silk border and pallu. This is what gives the Ilkal saree its particular drape, its weight, and its comfort in Karnataka's heat.

More on the craft

The Collection

Sarees from our looms

A selection of what comes off our looms. Tell us what you are looking for and we will send you photographs and details. If it is not here, we can weave it.

Draped, full length

Charcoal Grey Checkered

Cotton silk · Everyday wear

A quiet checked weave with a fine contrast border. Made for wearing often.

Enquire about this saree
Draped on a mannequin, pallu visible

Deep Maroon Temple Border

Pure silk · Wedding wear

A deep maroon body with a temple-motif zari border and a traditional pallu.

Enquire about this saree
Draped, border and motif detail

Emerald Green Peacock

Pure silk · Occasion wear

Emerald silk with a contrast border carrying peacock motifs in zari.

Enquire about this saree
Folded with the zari pallu spread

Festive Red and Gold

Pure silk · Festive wear

The classic festive combination: a red body with a broad gold zari pallu.

Enquire about this saree
Flat, full spread

Golden Cream Classic

Cotton silk · Occasion wear

A soft cream body with a golden border. Understated, and easy to wear.

Enquire about this saree
Draped, showing the depth of colour

Chandrakali

Cotton silk · Traditional

The traditional dark-toned Ilkal saree, named for its depth of colour.

Enquire about this saree

See the full collection

Worn By

Sarees from our looms, worn beyond Betigeri

One was chosen for the alankar of Shri Mahalakshmi at Kolhapur. Others have been worn by Union ministers and by actors. Every one of them came off the same handlooms, woven by the same hands.

Shri Mahalakshmi at Kolhapur, adorned in a saree from our looms
Kolhapur · January 2021

Alankar for Shri Mahalakshmi

A saree of our own making was offered for the alankar of Shri Mahalakshmi Devi at Kolhapur. Of everything that has left these looms, this is the honour the family holds highest.

  • Nirmala Sitharaman

    Nirmala Sitharaman

    Union Finance Minister

    [The occasion, and which saree she wore.]

  • Smriti Irani

    Smriti Irani

    Former Union Minister for Textiles

    [The occasion, and which saree she wore.]

  • Genelia Deshmukh

    Genelia Deshmukh

    Actor

    [Confirm before publishing. The Vogue and Elle pieces credit the label, not the weaver. Say here what our part in it was.]

  • Jayamala

    Jayamala

    Actor; former Member, Karnataka Legislative Council

    [The occasion, and which saree she wore.]

See all of it

Media Coverage

In the press

Writing about the Ilkal weave, and about the looms it comes from.

All coverage

Four GenerationsOne weaving family
Three Hundred FamiliesHave made a living here
Betigeri-GadagKarnataka, India
Sold DirectBy the weavers themselves

Come and see the looms

Our workshop is in Betigeri-Gadag. You are welcome to visit, watch a saree being woven, and choose one in person.

Get in touch