Reeling is the skein preparation prior to dyeing. The reeling machine is fed by yarn packages and winds them onto a reel, thereby forming the skein. The yarn is separately reeled for tana (warp) and bana (weft). Three to five people are needed to reel the warp which is wrapped on a warp cylinder in sufficient length required to weave a known length of sarees. Yarn for the weft is reeled on small cylindrical object in a process known locally as ‘nari bharana’. The weft-yarn is used in a shuttle called ‘dharki’, which is thrown from one to other side while weaving. A charkha (spinning wheel), now made up of a bicycle rim and a paddle, is used for winding the yarn on nari (bobbins) and is usually done by women.
