(photobank.unesco.org/library/image/406/13DD2V...)
The early examples of burqas and chadaris seem to have been made of cotton of varying qualities, or less frequently, silk. Cotton versions are still available and tend to be worn by poorer women. A feature of the chadari are the hundreds of narrow pleats in the main body of the garment. These pleats are not very popular because each time a cotton chadari is washed the pleats have to be re-made by hand.
The first synthetic chadaris appeared on the market in the late 1960s, and by the mid-1970s had become widespread. The appeal of this type of material is that it is easy to wash, comes in a range of colours and is relatively cheap. The pleats are steam-heated into the cloth and remain, even when washed. This saves considerable time and effort. Nowadays much of the material used to make these garments comes from China and South Korea.
The price of the material various considerably. A chadari, for example, in a cheap course material may cost c. 200 afghani (c. $4; 2007). While one in a light weight cloth with machine embroidery may cost in the region of 1400 afghani ($28; nearly a month's salary for some families). A chadari intended to be worn by a bride at her wedding may cost even more.
Construction
Nowadays, a burqa from Pakistan consists of a cap, a body cover or chador that incorporates an eye hole grid or two separate eye holes, and a separate panel lower down at the front. The cap, face veil section and panel are usually decorated with embroidery. This type of garment does not have the tight, pressed pleats of the Afghan version (see below). Instead, the 'pleats' or rather the gentle folds of the garment are made by gathering the excess material of the chador on a draw thread, and then sewing the material to the cap. The folds are created by working several rows of running stitches or by smocking the cloth, so creating a honeycomb effect
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The Afghan chadari consists of a cap, body covering and a separate face veil panel. In contrast to the (Pakistani) burqa described above, the panel with an eye grid is attached to the cap and there is no separate, inserted panel lower down. Around the upper part of the chador there are hundreds of narrow pleats that are gathered together and then sewn onto the cap. It is these pleats that give the garment it voluminous nature. The cap and panel are normally decorated with embroidery. This type of chadari has become a global icon and (in)famous throughout the world.
The eye grid
The eye grid in 19th and 20th century examples so far examined are always made from pulled thread work (the threads of the background material are pulled aside by the embroidery thread to create a hole). To date, there is no evidence that lace, crochet or some other form of embroidery was used.
Modern examples of chadari usually have a machine made form of drawn thread work, or (in very cheap examples), the holes of the grid are heat formed (the synthetic cloth is literally melted away).
