Fabrics

My intention when starting my business over 30 years ago was to support traditional crafts and not to change the way things are done in India. The production of the fabrics does not disrupt the traditional lifestyle of the villages where they are made.

Ikat  - is a type of weaving where the warp, weft or both are tie-dyed before weaving to create designs on the finished fabric. Great care must be taken in tying resist areas with water repellent material such as bicycle inner tubes cut into strips. The precision of the wrapping determines the clarity of the design. After wrapping, the warp threads are dyed. When finished and unwrapped, the areas under the ties have stayed the original colour. Numerous colours can be added after additional wrappings. Great care must be taken in putting the warp on the loom, keeping all the threads in position is necessary for the design to work. The natural movement during weaving gives ikat designs a feathered edge which characterise this technique.

Block prints

 The block prints are made entirely by hand, with natural, dyes, and without the use of mechanical devices. I use fabrics printed in Gujarat by a family of master printers who have carried on the tradition of hand printing mud resist and vegetable dyes on cottons.

The designs are traditional and complex using a number of handcarved blocks to build up the patterns, each must register over the previous print with dying and washing processes at intervals through the production process, each of course done by hand.

Fabric Care:

Most of my fabrics are 100% natural cotton, made in the ancient tradition. Due to this fact, no piece is identical and there will always be reminders of the fact that it was made by man, not machines. Small spots and imperfections, as well as slight fading with each wash are part of their charm, and are to be expected. I hope you enjoy my clothes and bedspreads as you will have an original piece of indian craft. You are also helping the families in small villages in South India and Ghujarat maintain their crafts and livelihood.

Care Instructions:

-Wash separately, in cool water, with a gentle detergent on delicate cycle.

-You may machine dry on low air, or hang dry.

-Iron as usual, medium temp.

-Do not dry clean.