Embroidery from the Kutch

Metallic tape embroidered over a tie dyed fabric on this head shawl.

Newspaper is used as a pattern

Bandhani/ Tie Dye Workshop

Once dyed the folded fabric is pulled open so the resist wrappings pop off (the blue thread).

The resist-dyed pattern is revealed. The textile is left wrinkled...

...or ironed out flat.

Rabari & Bandhani Embroidery, NW India

We visited a Rabari textile collector in his home.

Next we had a workshop with the National Award '85 Winner who does Bandhani embroidery, Aminaben Ismail Khatri . We learnt how to tie minute circles of cloth in patterns. She now employs 500 women to tie lengths of silk & cotton in her designs. The image shows a sack of tied lengths of cloth ready for dyeing.

The tied cloth is dyed.

At this stage it may be re-tied to build up the design before being dyed again. This process can be repeated many times depending on how complex the design is.