Ikat fabrics Hand woven

IKAT is the commonly used word to describe a method of yarn resistdyeing and the basic process is known to have existed in India for atleast 1500 years. Bundles of yarn are tightly bound with threads orstrips of rubber to cover the areas that will eventually form thepattern. After tying the yarn is fully immersed in a dye bath where thedye penetrates the exposed yarn and leaves the protected areas undyed.For multicolour effects the process is repeated. When rinsed and driedthe ties are removed and the yarn is fed on to the loom in a strictlycontrolled order ready for weaving. This basic process is simple enoughbut is extremely time consuming; a well controlled pattern requiresgreat skill and attention to detail. Once set up, the weaving of a warpIkat is simple and fast. Although there are virtually endless patternopportunities working with a tie-dyed warp the maximum effect of thistechnique is achieved by tie-dyeing both warp and weft. This doublesthe amount of tie-dyeing and slows down the weaving as the weaver hasto adjust virtually every weft insertion to ensure a good patternalignment.