The origin of kasavu mundu or Kerala kasavu can be traced back to the Buddhist Era when the handloom industry first gathered interest. Several mentions of this garment can be found in ancient Buddhist texts and literature as ‘Sattika’ or ‘antariya’ and ‘neriyathu’. 

Under the reign of Maharaja Balarama Varma and Ummini Thampi in the early 19th Century, the production of kasavu mundu was first set into motion. These prominent rulers were known as the real change-makers as they brought about a revolution in the newly formed handloom industry. This revolution was instigated when they invited Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu’s community of weavers, ‘Shaaliyar’, to their state. The rulers offered them a place to settle in and were respectful and treated them with pride, earning them the weavers’ gratitude. As a means of conveying their appreciation, the weavers community made garments using locally sourced handwoven cotton for the royal family of Travancore. The unanticipated rise in demand for their unique, handwoven garments can be accounted for the same. Portuguese and Dutch exporters caught sight of this sudden change too. 

After Vasco da Gama arrived in Kerala, the barter system became a standard payment structure. It became preferred and conventionally involved exchanging gold for spices. The royals and upper-class women took this as a window of opportunity to make good use of the gold by weaving it into handwoven cloth or sarees. 

Some theories state that the gold borders of the kasavu borders are influenced by ‘palmyrene’, a Graeco-Roman costume. This costume consists of a long piece of unstitched cloth, ‘palla’, that has a designed border, and a long, airy garment which it is worn on top of. 

To begin producing kasavu mundu, the raw fabric is sourced first. Cotton is procured from Tamil Nadu’s Salem, while the zari threads are bought from Surat, Gujarat. Raw cotton is transformed into yarn by hand-spinning it, and once the rolls of yarn are ready, they are soaked in water and kanji liquid for a week. Weavers stomp on the rolls with their feet every day to completely remove starch and dirt. Doing this ensures that the yarn is as soft as it can be. After a week, the yarn is taken out of the solution and dyed as per the design requirements. 

Next, the yarn is stretched, and the warp is created. This is traditionally done at a specific time - between 4 AM and 7 AM - because the temperature and climate are more suitable. Before placing the warp yarn on the loom, the weavers re-starch and dry the yarn before repeating the process. When the yarn is about to be dried for the last time, it is brushed with a coconut fibre comb. 

As soon as the yarn is ready, it is wound on the loom beam and tightly knotted to the previously placed yarns. Melted wax aids in this step since it makes fingers non-slippery. The attached yarns are then extended and ready for weaving. Zari threads are prepared by passing them through the eyelets and rolling them onto the warping beams. These eyelets shift from one end of the warping frame to the other and continue to do so until the desired length of thread is obtained to begin weaving.