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The story behind the weave
A centuries-old resist-dyeing technique from Telangana
Pochampally Ikat
In Pochampally, Telangana, weavers tie-dye the yarn itself before it ever touches the loom -- the pattern exists in the thread long before the fabric is woven.
The Artisan
The Craft
The motif is first mapped out on graph paper, thread by thread.
Sections of yarn are bound tightly and dyed in stages to build the pattern.
The pre-dyed threads are woven with painstaking precision to align the pattern.
The Motif
The diamond-edged motifs are a hallmark of Ikat -- their slightly blurred edges are not a flaw but the signature of the resist-dye process itself.
A Closer Look