Ikat is a textile technique done by the process of resist dyeing on the yarns before dyeing and weaving the fabric.

We are working with Edem Chandana, an 18-year-old handloom weaver from Koyyalagudem, a village in the Yadadri district in Telangana- A State well-known for Koy's Ikat. Chandana generally weaves Ikat clothes and Tellya Rumal sarees and mostly works on designing the pattern for Ikkat, tie, and dye-related works which are associated with designing and colouring aspects of the saree. She also weaves sarees with natural dyes which are extracted from vegetables, leaves, and different types of fruits. Her father, Edem Srinath, received a National award for excellence in handloom saree weaving from the former president of India, Sri. Pranab Mukherjee for vegetable-dyed double ikat silk saree.


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NB x IKAT

NB x IKAT

 

About the Craft

Ikat is one of the oldest textile dyeing techniques. It is most prevalent in Indonesia, India and Japan.
The resist is formed by binding individual yarns or bundles of yarns in the desired pattern, the yarns are then dyed. The bindings are then be changed to create a new pattern and the yarns dyed again with another colour. This process may be repeated multiple times to produce elaborate, multicolored patterns.
A characteristic of Ikat textiles is the blurriness to the design. The blurriness is a result of the extreme difficulty the weaver has lining up the dyed yarns so that the pattern comes out perfectly in the finished cloth.