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Crafts / Pochampally Ikat

Pochampally Ikat

State
Telangana
Material
Silk · Cotton
Rarity
Popular

Patterns tied into the thread before the first throw of the shuttle

About

Handwoven geometric cloth from Pochampally in which both warp and weft are resist-dyed, giving patterns with soft, feathery edges.

Ikat is a way of making patterned cloth by tying and dyeing the yarn before it is woven, so the design is created in the thread itself. The word comes from the Malay-Indonesian mengikat, to bind or tie. Pochampally ikat comes from Bhoodan Pochampally and the villages around it in Telangana, where it is known locally as paagadu bandhu. The patterns are mostly geometric, with diamonds, zigzags, stripes and checks, and the edges of the shapes are slightly feathered where the colours meet.

Pochampally is known for double ikat, in which both the warp and the weft threads are tied and dyed to a plan, and then woven so the two patterns line up. The cloth is cotton, silk, or a mix of silk and cotton called sico, and is made into sarees, dress material and dupattas. Ikat kerchiefs called telia rumals, a related tradition of the same region, are also woven.

The weaving is done by families, with different people handling tying, dyeing and weaving, and much of the work is organised through cooperative societies and master weavers. Ikat is also woven in other parts of India, notably in Odisha and Gujarat, each with its own style.

How it’s made

Ikat starts with the design, which is worked out on paper as a plan of which parts of the yarn should be which colour. The yarn is wound into skeins and stretched on a frame. The weaver then ties the parts of the yarn that must keep their colour, usually with thread or tight bands, so the dye cannot reach them. This is the resist.

The tied yarn is dyed in the first colour, then dried. To add a second colour, some of the ties are removed and others added, and the yarn is dyed again. A pattern with several colours can need many rounds of tying, dyeing and untying. Today dyes can be natural or synthetic, and colours are increasingly natural-sourced, according to some producers.

The dyed warp and weft yarns are then set up on a loom. In double ikat, the weaver must line up each tied pattern on the warp with its partner in the weft as the cloth is woven, adjusting thread by thread. This careful alignment is what gives ikat its softly blurred, feathered edges. It is slow, skilled work and a saree can take many days.

Key features

  • Yarn is tied and dyed before weaving: a resist-dye technique
  • Double ikat: both warp and weft are patterned
  • Geometric patterns with soft, feathered edges
  • Cotton, silk and silk-cotton (sico) fabrics
  • Locally called paagadu bandhu or chitki
  • Woven in Pochampally and surrounding villages
  • Protected as a Geographical Indication

History

Telangana is one of the old ikat weaving centres of India, along with Gujarat and Odisha. In the earlier past other weaving centres in the coastal part of the region were active, but they declined for various reasons, and today Pochampally and the villages around it are the main centre of the craft in the region. The local names paagadu bandhu and chitki refer to the tie-and-dye technique.

Pochampally ikat has its own character of design, different from that of other ikat-producing regions. The craft is organised as a cottage industry across many villages in the region, with weavers' cooperative societies and master weavers marketing the cloth. The Pochampally saree has been given a Geographical Indication, the registered owners being the Pochampally Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society and a manufacturers' association.

In recent years Pochampally has been recognised as a tourism village and is part of a tentative UNESCO World Heritage listing of iconic saree-weaving clusters of India, which has helped bring visitors. As elsewhere, hand-woven ikat competes with power-loom and printed imitations, and efforts are being made to support and revive the craft.

Facts

  • Mengikat Named for tying. Ikat comes from the Malay-Indonesian word mengikat, meaning to bind. The yarn is tied to resist the dye before weaving.
  • Double ikat Warp and weft. Pochampally is known for double ikat, in which both warp and weft threads are tied and dyed, and then aligned during weaving.
  • Not tie-dye Resist on yarn, not cloth. In tie-dye or batik the resist is applied to woven cloth. In ikat it is applied to the yarn, before it is woven.
  • Cluster A cluster of villages. Weaving survives in Pochampally and villages such as Koyalgudam, Choutuppala, Siripuram, Bhuvanagiri, Puttapaka and Gattuppala.

Market

Sarees, dress material and furnishings

Pochampally ikat is sold as sarees, dupattas, dress material, scarves and furnishings through cooperatives, handloom shops and online. Printed and power-loom imitations that copy the look are common. In real ikat, the pattern is in the thread and looks nearly the same on both sides, with feathered edges.

Sustainability

Handloom, with growing natural dyes

Ikat is woven on handlooms without electricity, which is low-impact. The dyeing is a main environmental concern, and increasing numbers of producers use natural dyes and blends. Buying handloom-marked cloth from cooperatives supports weaving families.

Products

  • Ikat sarees: Cotton, silk and silk-cotton, the best-known product
  • Dupattas and stoles: Lighter ikat pieces
  • Dress material: Fabric lengths for kurtas and clothing
  • Home furnishings: Cushion covers, bed linen and curtains
  • Telia rumals: Ikat kerchiefs of a related tradition of the same region

Words to know

  • Ikat: A weaving method in which yarn is tied and dyed before weaving.
  • Paagadu bandhu: The Telangana name for the tie-and-dye ikat technique.
  • Warp: The long threads set on the loom.
  • Weft: The threads woven across the warp.
  • Sico: A fabric mix of silk and cotton.
  • Resist: A tied or covered area that does not take the dye.

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