Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Ikat

The cool-kids' version of tye-dye:

Ikat, or Ikkat, is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibres.
Bindings, which resist dye penetration, are applied to the threads in the desired patterns and the threads are dyed. Alteration of the bindings and the dyeing of more than one color produce elaborate, multicolored patterns. When all of the dyeing is finished the bindings are removed and the threads are ready to be woven into cloth.
The defining characteristic of ikat is the dyeing of patterns, by means of bindings, into the threads before cloth construction, the weaving of the fabric, takes place. Herein lies the difference between ikat and tie-dye. In tie-dye the fabric is woven first and the resist bindings are then applied to the fabric which is dyed.




(Images found here, here, and here.)

2 comments:

  1. If you like ikat, you should check this out: http://shop.freshly-pressed.com/product/ikat-gold. Especially if you're in need of some new notecards (she hand-presses them all)... Made by a good friend of mine!

    Love you, Kels!

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  2. Thanks, Kel! Her cards are gorgeous!!

    ReplyDelete