Ikat within ikat
Ikat (locally called bandha)
means “to tie”. It is a resist technique where the yarns are tied and
dyed before weaving into motifs and patterns in different colours.
Nuapatna village in the Cuttack district of Orissa is known for its khandua ikat—saris and fabrics woven in ikat in
mainly three colours, red, yellow and green, and which are offered to
the deities at Jagannath Temple. Jain works with the weavers in Nuapatna
and is experimenting with different ikat techniques and fabric structures. “The kadam sari is our most innovative cocktail silk sari this year. We went one step beyond the traditional ikat technique, where we incorporated fine jharna ikat design in vivid colours inside bold curvilinear ikat motifs reflecting water and blooming flowers on a jet black sari! That is why it is now known as ikat within ikat,”
she explains. “We are trying to revive natural dyeing practices in this
village and are using natural dyes like lac, catechu, jackfruit bark,
palash flower,” she adds.
Ikat within ikat saris start at Rs.6,500, and transparent silk ikats at Rs.6,490. Contact Jain at vriksh.orissa@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment