Ikat fabric is a type of textile design created by using a specific dying procedure. Before weaving the cloth, resist dyeing parts of the yarns is used to create Ikat. As beautiful as its name, Ikat patterns are even more alluring. The apparent "blurriness" of the design is a distinguishing feature of ikat textiles. The blurriness is caused by the weaver's struggle to line up the coloured strands so that the design appears correctly in the completed cloth. Let us take a course around the world and delve into Ikat.
Indonesia
Indonesia is the place to be when it comes to fantastic textile dyeing processes. Indonesian ikat is a traditional hand-woven textile. It is, in fact, a centuries-old custom in around 30 countries around the world. Before the yarn is woven, a skilled procedure of marking, tying, and dyeing the design into the yarn is used to create Ikat fabric. Indonesia has a long, symbiotic relationship with the cotton fabric. Different regions across Indonesia's 17,000 islands polished their designs and production styles over time, still represented regionally.
India
Indigenous ikat weaving styles can be found in many places in India. The crisp ikat designs woven in Gujarat's Patan are significantly different from Orissa's Sambalpuri Ikat. The latter, known as Patan Patola, is one of the rarest types of double Ikat, requiring a great deal of dyeing and weaving time and work. Rajkot, Gujarat produces a particular type of Patola ikat. Other Indian Ikats include Telia Rumal from Andhra Pradesh, Pasapalli from Odisha, and Puttapaka from Telangana.
Uzbekistan
Ikat fabrics are known in Uzbekistan as abr, a Persian word that means cloud. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviets constructed big textile combines in Uzbekistan, which gradually displaced ikats. While the patterns were still formed by hand, machines were already being employed to join the threads to some extent, and the weaving process was finally automated completely. People in the art community wore beautifully colourful ikats to symbolise their bohemian lifestyle during the Soviet era. When Uzbekistan won independence in 1991, the old craft of silk weaving resurfaced. The world of haute couture and major international fashion designers began to notice Uzbek ikat.
Japan
Kasuri, or Japanese Ikat Weaving, is a method in which lengths of yarn are knotted and dyed before being woven. The Kasuri dyeing technique was not widely adopted by Japanese textile makers at first. Kasuri didn't develop a firm footing in Japan until the 18th century. The hazy, feather-edge patterns and the textiles, garments, and bed coverings they adorn are referred to as "kasuri" in Japanese. The hazy edged patterns were created using a variety of dying techniques. By far the most popular dye for Kasuri textiles was natural indigo.
Guatemala
Guatemala is one of the few places on the planet where this sophisticated textile art is still practised with zeal. In Spanish, Ikat, or “jaspe” is traditionally found in Cortes, or wrap skirts worn by indigenous women. Cortes are woven by men on a bigfoot loom. Natural dyes are being reintroduced in some villages, and when coupled with distinctive ikat designs, the outcome is stunning. Ikat has been a true basis of the weaving tradition in Guatemala since the late 18th century, and it is utilised to create both the warp (single ikat) and the weft threads (double ikat) in a design to produce the “córtes”. Guatemala's weaving traditions are still alive, and some weavers are eager to experiment with new designs and views.
Share your thoughts :