Ikat

We live freely only when we begin to find happiness in flaws

The best gift that you can give yourself and others is acceptance and celebration of the perfect imperfections

Ikat is also one such celebration of perfect imperfections!!!

Get to know your favourite Ikat, in all its glory!

Ikat means “To tie” but in various languages in Indonesia, which is believed to be the place of origin of this technique, Ikat means “To Bind”. Ikat is a highly labour-intensive technique, where the yarns that are used for weaving into a cloth, are dyed using the Resist Dying method.

Here the resist is formed by tightly wrapping or tying the yarns individually or in bundles with threads, as per the requirement of the pattern and then dyed with the desired colour.

The bindings are altered multiple times as per the design’s requirement.

Once the yarns are dyed as per the requirement of the design then the weavers use them to weave it into a cloth.

Trivia- An Ikat fabric is patterned on both the sides of the fabric.

It’s all about the perfect Imperfections

One characteristic feature of this technique is the significant “blurriness” which can’t be overlooked. This blurriness is the result of the shifting of the warp threads while weaving, for the blurriness to be lesser it requires for the weaver to be highly skilled and efficient.

A fabric that has significantly lesser or negligible “blurriness” is much higher in cost if compared to the one where the “blurriness” is quite prominent. A weaver must be extremely skilled with years of experience and expertise to minimise the “blurriness” in an Ikat fabric and produce elaborate and intricate designs In form of a fabric.

This technique is highly practiced in India, Japan and Indonesia. An Ikat is almost like a visual treat for eyes and looks like a keenly calculated textile weaving technique.

Types of Ikat

The technique used by the artisans while making an Ikat makes them vary from one another.

Warp Ikat- Here only the warp yarns are dyed using the resist technique and the weft yarns are dyed with solid colours

Weft Ikat- Here the weft yarns are dyed using the ikat resist technique and the warp yarns are dyed with solid colours

Double Ikat- This a little complicated of the two as here both the warp and weft yarns are resist dyed before weaving. This type of Ikat is also most expensive as it requires intense skill, time and efficiency.

Trivia- Ikat is also known as “The poetry of loom” courtesy to the painstaking process that the weavers undergo to bring perfectly imperfect patterns to life.

Ikat is a beautiful representation of the efforts and skills of the weavers and artisans and thus the results are breath-taking every single time. Also the fibres used in making an Ikat are natural and bio-degradable making it environment friendly and sustainable, so you ca shop “guilt-free”.

Ikat has a lot of admirers and its popularity knows no boundaries, we are sure that once you have tasted the magic of an Ikat fabric life is never the same and the charm keeps you coming back for more.