Our efforts were focussed on finding different varieties of cotton plants, and during trials a 70 percent DNA match with the original phuti karpas was found. Due to the decline of spinning centres in Chandina and Noakhali (within Bangladesh) the current generation of spinners lack the experience of handling very fine yarn. India, however, retains some spinners who produce such yarn using the ambar charka. This process, while mixing our cotton with Indian ones, is used for producing fine yarn (ranging from two hundred to five hundred count). These yarns are used by our special group of weavers to produce ‘new muslin’, a fabric of high- count cotton that bears classic motifs and is the closest replication of the muslin of the Mughals. In order to manufacture to muslin’s standards the age-old weaving techniques were adapted by the Bengal Muslin.

During the Muslin Festival exhibition (Feb-Mar 2016) jamdani motifs re-created from exceptional designs of the past were woven into 300- count saris by master weaver Al-Amin. Such high count cloth had never been manufactured on the loom in Bangladesh prior to Drik-Bengal Muslin’s project. New designs, based on traditional ones, are being trialled constantly. Yardage, saris and scarves have been produced from the fabric.

The project continues to work with the spinners and weavers; growing and processing the cotton and yarn, weaving high-count cloth; attempting to unlock the secrets of the past and  inspire our current generation of weavers to show their skills to a new generation of consumers.