Ikat is one of the styles of weaving that uses a resistdyeing process as similar to tie-dye. It uses either the warp or weft to weavea pattern or design. When both warp and weft are tie-dyed then it is calleddouble Ikat.


In the 19th century, Bukhara and Smarkand werefamous for their fine silk Ikat, while India, Japan and several South-EastAsian countries have cultures with long histories of Ikat production. One cannot find double Ikat simply but still it can be found in India, Guatemala, Japan and the Indonesian islands of Bali and Kalimantan. Ikat varies wildly fromcountry to country and region to region. Generally Ikats are symbols of status,wealth, power and prestige.


There is link between Ikat production in India and South-East Asia. Gujarati merchants brought Patola to Indonesian rulers and there thisactivity of making Ikat was taken over by the Dutch. The patterns in the PatolaIkat are prominently similar to the double Ikat produced in Bali, Indonesia. In Europe in Mallorca and in Spain Ikat floral patterns are used.


Making Process of Ikat


Ikat fabrics are woven by hand on narrow looms in alabor-intensive process. Thai Ikats are generally 34" to 39" wide.Plain weave Ikat fabrics have unique resist patterns so it looks the same onboth sides of fabrics. There is no right or wrong side to the cloth. The ThaiIkats typically have 2" to 3" solid borders along each selvage.


The easiest way to create Ikat is to dye the warp. Before attachingthe warp strings to the loom they are arranged into bundles, every bundle istied and dyed individually, so that a pattern is visible when the loom is setup. To keep dyes from penetrating the tightly bound bundles are covered withwax. After the threads are dyed the loom is set up. The pattern is visible tothe weaver when the dyed threads are used as warp. Threads can be adjusted sothat they line up correctly with each other.


Generally dying the weft Ikats are used when the precision of the pattern is not the main concern, and weaving of weft Ikat is much moredifficult than warp Ikat. While double Ikats are the most difficult to produce because in these warp and weft are precisely tied and dyed so that the pattern caninterlock and reinforce each other when the fabric is woven. The example ofmost precise Ikat is the Japanese Oshima-thrice woven cloth. The warp and weftthreads are used as warp to weave stiff fabric, upon which the thread for the Ikatweaving is spot-dyed, after that the mats are winded and the dyed thread iswoven into Oshima cloth.


In India there are many kinds of Ikats weaving, this differsfrom region to region. Few examples are Patans Patola, Pochampali, Narayanpur,and Koyalagudem. Mudmee and Mudmi woven clothes are Ikat from Thailand. Mudmi cloth was woven for daily use among the nobility.


Few typical items of Ikat weaving are Sarees, Blankets, Matsand Carpets.


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