Tie & Dye

The Art and its Pattern

Tie and Die is one of the most widely accepted and one of the very traditional methods of printing textiles in India. According to the design and the motif, each printing has its special significance. The chandokhni and shikhara are specially created for the brides. The barah baag, when opened looks like a garden of flowers - set of 12(barah) beds of flowers. There was also design called bavan baag, but no one makes it now because it takes too much time and labor.

Ambadal, a network of branches and leaves interwoven with variety of birds, represents the branches of mango tree. Chokidal is a pattern of squares with elephants and other animals. And then there is kambaliya - a design with a dotted pattern in the center and a different design along the border. The basant bahar represents the flowers of spring, the mor zad - a peacock pattern, etc.

All these designs are traditional. Any new design that a craftsman of modern times creates is called fancy.

Colors Used

The colors commonly used in bandhani are - red, a symbol of marriage, saffron, a color worn by yogi who has renounced the world, yellow, which stands for spring and black and maroon, used for mourning. Bandhani material is sold folded and with the knots tied. One has to pull the folds apart for the knots to open. The payment is made according to the number of dots in the pattern. An intricate design in a sari would have approximately 75000 dots. What is essential in bandhani is the minute and skilful manipulation of the takes several years for a craftsman to perfect his skill. Bandhani saris and dupattas are available at most shops all over india but to get the authentic material,it is advisable buy it from Rajasthan or Gujarat emporia which have outlets in major cities or from Crafts In India.