Sarees of East India have a rich cultural background as the region covers the states that have rich traditional and cultural history.

Although east India was ruled by Muslims since the late twelfth century, sarees always dominated women`s clothing and they were woven with intricate designs. The three major natural fibres, namely cotton, mulberry silk and wild silk are primarily used as the base material for weaving sarees in this region. Texture is also obtained through supplementary-weft and -warp weaving, with the supplementary threads woven in either contrasting or complementary colours to the ground.

Sarees of East India have a different weaving technique including several types of figured and inlaid work created through supplementary-warp patterning and discontinuous supplementary-weft weaving. On other hand, interlocked-weft weaving in saree borders and twill as well as plain weaves are also noticed in the weaving techniques of east India. Interlocked-weft weaving is commonly found in older Bengali and Banarasi sarees. Many traditional eastern-region sarees display simple palettes based on the natural colours of the basic materials. Wild silks were rarely dyed, and unbleached, undyed cottons were also preferred in earlier times for creating sarees. Likewise, many of the expensive jamdani muslins of the nineteenth century were neither bleached nor dyed. Some contained the discontinuous supplementary-weft work created with the golden-coloured muga silk of Assam. This gave rise to a luxury fabric that was completely `natural` in terms of its colour scheme. When colour was used in eastern Indian sarees, it was usually woven in as yarn-dyed thread. The use of these threads used to create contrasting monochromatic designs most often in red, black or blue against a white or natural-coloured ground.

In the last quarter of the twentieth century, the women used to wear more mill-woven and mill-printed fabrics with their western Indian designs and colours. But the aesthetic value of traditional sarees lingers on among urban women of eastern Indian origin, as many regard white silk or fine white muslin sarees with ornately figured or inlaid borders as good, conservative attire for special occasions. Bengali Desi muslins are the combination of the tradition of West Bengal and Bangladesh. This particular sarees are usually heavier and more opaque although today many handloom weavers are producing semi-transparent desi sarees with relatively high thread counts. The design is usually simple and understated, with colour added through discrete supplementary-warp or -weft patterning. The body is usually white or unbleached cotton with a narrow border (kinara, kora) and a short endpiece (anchal, anchala), woven as a series of narrow stripes of yarn-dyed threads. Shantipur and Dhaniyakhali (West Bengal), and in Pabna, Tangail, Demra, Bajitpur and Dhaka (Bangladesh) are the weaving centres of desi muslin sarees. Tangail sarees are also considered as one of the most ancient sarees and are regarded as daily-wear sarees in the east region. The modern Indian `Tangail` jamdanis have a very different appearance that is different from the common Tangail sarees. In Hindu-dominated West Bengal, sarees now show a greater range of colours than in the past. Bright yellows, greens, reds and blues are hugely used in the traditional and the regular wear sarees as well. Besides, sarees in dark colours, such as dark blue, black and wine red, are made. The locally popular Neelambari saree is dark blue or black, usually dark blue muslin, with or without woven or embroidered embellishments. Though the origin of the Jamdani muslins is Dhaka, and the name is of Persian origin, the weavers of east India create fine Jamdani sarees that showcase geometric, abstract and zoomorphic forms. West Bengali Jamdanis are often called `Tangail jamdanis`, and they typically have many small buti woven throughout the field, often diagonally. They are now woven in many areas of West Bengal, in such villages as Dhatrigram, Samudragarh, Saithia, Phulia and Shantipur (Nadia and Burdwan districts). Today, the `Tangail Jamdani` has developed a style of its own and it is now acquiring the vibrant colours of southern India and bold animal designs of Andhra Pradesh. Many are also made in silk (including the wild silk called Tussar) instead of cotton.

Among the most famous East Indian sarees, Bengali Silks occupy a major position. Sarees with white, undyed fields and simple coloured borders are common. These are known as `gorad` or puja sarees, the latter because of their ritual associations. Including these, east India has an age long tradition for Baluchar sarees, elaborately woven brocade known to have been made at least as early as the mid-eighteenth century. A traditionally simpler version of these saris, which may have been the ancestor of the ornate Baluchar, is a group of silk saris called butidar saris. The `tant` sarees of eastern region are well known for the exquisite and traditional fabrics that are suitable for the weather of this region. Apart from these sarees, the long-established artisans create embroidery works on sarees, which include `kantha` embroidery, appliqué work, sujani embroidery etc. Various kinds of cotton-on-muslin, silk-on-muslin and zardozi embroideries were also commercially manufactured throughout the region. The local women of this region are employed in these embroidery works. Sometime, the artisans of this region create embroidered sarees that are worn by the high-caste brides. The embroideries and appliqués emphasize form and texture rather than colour, and although colours often contrast, they are not richly polychromatic as in the west. The most common appliqué style worked on sarees involves a cloth of contrasting colours cut into repeated motifs. The designs are distinctive to the area, with angular shapes and large, intricately convoluted curves. The motifs depict stylized birds, creeping vines, leaves, and even rows of figures; although they are often so abstracted it is difficult to tell at first glance what the shapes represent. The best of these appliqués have a flowing, lyrical quality. In addition, a zari embroidered saree with appliquéd gold braid, called a gota saree; traditionally play an important role in the higher-caste Bihari bride`s wardrobe during the wedding ceremony. Gota sarees are now made of red silk, although they used to be made of cotton, upon which extensive zari embroidery and appliquéd gota were added.

Apart from these, sarees of east India include the Tussar silk sarees. In ancient times, a pure silk fabric called sela and a cotton dhoti with a Tussar border called a Manipuri dhoti, were a favourite among the local people. The eastern region is also good at weaving Khadi sarees, garod sarees, cotton muslin saree, Bengali silk sarees etc. The eastern region is well known for some sarees that are the representation of this region. The traditional saree of Bengal is Baluchari saree that are finely embroidered by artisans who create motifs on the border that depict scenes from the Ramayana and the new style continues the nineteenth-century Baluchari pictorial tradition. The Sambalpuri sarees have a rich tradition in the eastern region and the sarees are created with excellent mastery to keep the traditional touch intact. These sarees have wide borders with many bands of supplementary figuring and very long end pieces. The `das phoolia` saree, which means `with ten flowers`, have been praised for the intricacy of work. Geometric patterns are less common, but fish (maachha in Oriya), turtles (kecbu) etc are designed in the sarees. Sometimes saree borders consist of supplementary-warp bands woven 2.5 to 5 centimetres wide in repetitive geometric patterns, usually with a small diamond-shaped design.

The sarees of east India exhibit a grand tradition and the artisans who are engaged in weaving and elaborating the designs of sarees, create excellent designs. Apart from these sarees, this region has an array of sarees like Bomkai sarees, Jamdani sarees, Muga sarees and Pat sarees are also named for their traditional creations.