15 Aug 2012 3 Comments
Ikat, I Love You and I Don’t Know Why
Ikat is a very old way to design fabric by dyeing the threads before they are woven into the fabric. The part of the thread that is to remain white is covered in plastic or wax, then dyed. When the plastic is removed, that part will be left undyed.
Here you can see various ikat prints on threads: from Majorca, Indonesia, Laos, Bali and again Laos.
In Thailand ikat cottons are traditionally dyed indigo, but modern ikat prints are brightly coloured. In Peru and Central America this technique was used well before the landing of the Spaniards. It is believed that the technique was brought to Mexico from Asia during the colonial times. Source.
Cotton flower: in bloom and ready to be plucked.
And it seems it’s not just me. Everybody is going mad for ikat.
Photos from: here, here, here, here and here (top to bottom, left to right).
What about you? Do you like ikat prints?
Aug 15, 2012 @ 12:16:00
neat article about ikat! I didn’t know wax or plastic was applied to the thread.
I love how you mixed ikat with the leopard print. Cool!
Aug 17, 2012 @ 05:24:00
I know a similar way of dyeing in Japan, covering not the threads but a part of the fabric with wax and dye. after removing the wax, you can see characteristic prints on it. The idea of ikat, dyeing threads like that, is new and interesting for me.
Aug 20, 2012 @ 10:31:00
I like it too. I’ve seen that in Majorca, for example they just dip the threads into the die and let it dry then they change the way the threads are folded and they dip it in another colour. Pretty cool