Ikat
Ikat is a resist-dyeing technique in which the yarns are bound and dyed in patterns before weaving, giving designs with soft, feathered edges.
In ikat the pattern is dyed into the threads, not onto the cloth. Bundles of warp or weft yarn (or both, in double ikat) are tied tightly where the dye should not reach, dyed, untied and re-tied for the next colour. When they are woven, the colours line up into a pattern whose edges blur slightly.
Where is it made?
Across South-East and Central Asia, India, Japan, the Middle East and Latin America. The word is Indonesian/Malay, from a verb meaning to tie or bind. Gujarat’s double-ikat silk patola are among the most demanding textiles ever made.
Sources
- Ikat (AAT 300249861). Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Ikat (definition). Dictionary.com
- Glossary: patola. Ashmolean Museum, Yousef Jameel Centre
- Ikat (Q140101). Wikidata
See also
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