Weaving and Ikat patterns

Found in many places around the world, ikat is one of the oldest methods of reserve dyeing. This meticulous process combines knotting, artisan dyeing and weaving to create woven-dyed textiles adorned with vibrant multi-colored patterns. Discover the origins and manufacturing secrets of these unique patterned fabrics, identifiable at first glance by their blurred appearance.

​What is the ikat weaving technique?

The ikat technique has a particularity: it requires dyeing the warp and/or weft threads used for its manufacture before weaving them. A bit like tye and dye, but applied directly to the skeins of thread! Only certain areas of thread are colored, so as to create a pattern by entanglement during weaving. Very far from resembling the work of the painter Jackson Pollock who projected paint randomly on his canvases, the process is not random: it is based on the knotting of very specific sections of thread to “isolate” them from the dye.

[Note: the warp threads are located in the length direction of a textile. The weft threads are aligned widthwise.]

Chain ikat, the basic process

It all starts with bundles of wires stretched over a frame. Making warp ikat involves tightly tying certain areas of the skeins and then dipping them in a dye bath. The areas protected by the knots retain the original color of the fiber, while the “exposed” areas absorb the dye. The fibers traditionally used are cotton and silk, but the process can also be applied to viscose or other types of fibers that can be dyed. Nowadays, synthetic twine is generally used to tie up the skeins, which is more effective than cotton in insulating the fibers. 

After drying, it is possible to reproduce the operation with other colors, by removing or adding knots on different areas of the skeins in each dye bath. It is thus possible to create multi-colored patterns. Once the entire dyeing process is complete, the yarn is woven, revealing the pattern.

Weft ikat and double ikat

More complex and longer to implement than warp ikat, weft ikat and double ikat are two other variations of this process. 

The first, weft ikat, probably originated in the Arab world (Yemen). The technique then spread to India and Southeast Asia. She even traveled to Mallorca, where this fabric is known as roba de llengües (dress of tongues). Unlike the warp ikat, here it is the weft thread which is dyed in reserve before being woven on a mechanical loom. 

Double ikat is undoubtedly the most difficult variety to make. It is only found in a few places in the world: in the northwest of India (Gujarat province), it is made from precious silk and is called patola. In Indonesia (Bali), where it is believed to have magical properties, it is made of cotton and its name is geringsing. In Japan, we speak of kasuri to evoke this rare textile art. 

A double ikat is made up of a colored warp thread and a colored weft thread. This specialty requires time to carefully design the pattern in advance and great precision during weaving. This is always carried out on very simple crafts. It requires constantly checking the correct adjustment of the weft thread in relation to the warp threads. Whatever its origin, double ikat is an exceptional textile.

The origin of ikat

The name “ikat” refers to both the textile itself and the manufacturing process. In Indonesian and Malay, ikat means “to tie”, “tie”, or even “tie”. But despite its name originating from Southeast Asia, nothing confirms that the process spread from this region of the world. It is even very possible that it appeared spontaneously in several places on the planet... Made up of natural fibers and therefore easily degradable, textiles manufactured in ancient times often leave too few imprints over time to allow precisely retrace the course of ancient techniques.  

However, ikat remains dated between 900 and 200 BC. BC were discovered in Latin America and its presence is attested in Asia (China and Indonesia), in the Middle East (Egypt, Israel) between the 5th and 10th centuries.

From the Middle Ages to the present day, the technique has probably spread from one continent to another, since the art of ikat has been practiced for a long time in Asia (Indonesia, India, Japan), but also in Near East, West Africa (Nigeria), Latin America (Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador). Around the 18th century, the process became very popular in Europe. We will even make ikats in Normandy... This fabric is still the pride of the artisans of Majorca, the last bastion of European ikat know-how. 

To look at ikats without going to the Jakarta Textile Museum or the Tokyo National Museum (which houses very old ikat fragments), go to the British Museum website. The online collection offers virtual visitors photos of more than 400 pieces from all over the world.

decorative rug featuring an Ikat pattern of lions, roosters and birds © british museum

The different types of Ikat patterns

Chain Ikat

 • Island Southeast Asia

The chain ikat technique is the most widespread in Indonesia. There are therefore an infinite number of different styles that correspond to the cultural identity of each country, each region and each ethnicity. For example, in Sumba, Flores and Timor, ikat hinggi are known for always favoring the same color relationships, warm tones sometimes confined to red, brown and ocher. The patterns most often represent human figures or animals (lizards, skeletons, chickens, sea creatures, etc.) In Savu, the ikats are distinguished by their geometric patterns arranged in a grid or in rows. In Sarawak (Malaysia), the Iban ethnic group creates textiles decorated with human silhouettes and intertwined abstract patterns, inspired by local flora and fauna.

 • Uzbekistan 

In silk (shoyi), or in silk and cotton (adras, bekasam), the ikats of Uzbekistan have a solid reputation. They can be decorated with simple striped patterns, geometric designs (squares, circles, diamonds, rosettes, etc.) but also with compositions inspired by the animal or plant world (palmette leaves, flowers, almonds, pomegranates, apples, etc.)

Weft ikat

 • Thailand, Cambodia, Laos

In the North-East of Thailand, the multicolored patterns of the weft ikat are available in vertical stripes, sometimes decorated with Buddhist lucky symbols. In Cambodia and Laos, artisans are inspired by double ikats. They thus create ikats decorated with geometric patterns placed in lattices, or composed of narrative elements in bands (dancers, temples, elephants, etc.).  

 • Roba de llengües (Mallorca)

Balearic ikat is essentially composed of stripes and geometric patterns, it is characterized by its fresh colors with a very Mediterranean inspiration (white, pink, green, blue, yellow, etc.) If the original process was based on ikat frame, it seems that the manufacturers still in activity have finally decided to opt for the chain ikat

Double ikat

 • Patola (India)

Parrots and other birds, flowers, elephants, dancing figures... The traditional patterns of sumptuous patola saris are inspired by flora and fauna, in compositions sometimes embellished with geometric designs. 

 • Geringsing (Bali)

Exclusively made in the village of Tenganam Pegeringsingam, the Geringsing bears witness to Hindu influences. There are around twenty traditional models, on which we regularly find mandalas and frangipani flowers, as well as numerous floral, geometric, abstract and symbolic patterns (stars, animals and figures from the Wayang kulit shadow theater...) The color palette used is generally based on red, dark reddish brown, eggshell yellow and black. 

 • Kasuri (Japan)

There are Kasuri worked in weft ikat, others in double ikat. Their base color is indigo. They can represent simple and symbolic figures (birds, butterflies, flowers, plants, landscapes, etc.) or repeated geometric patterns (squares, checkers, stripes, arabesques, flames), in the purest tradition of ancestral Japanese patterns.

In conclusion, Ikat is much more than a simple weaving technique, it embodies an age-old tradition, deeply rooted in history and textile cultures around the world. This unique method, which consists of dyeing cotton or silk threads before even starting weaving, allows you to create fascinating patterns, recognizable by their slightly blurred appearance. Ikat, particularly present in Indonesia, but also in India, Japan and many other regions, gives rise to textiles which are as much works of art as everyday products. Whether sumptuous saris, decorative hangings, or even cushions, these fabrics with geometric, floral or symbolic patterns reveal meticulous work, often carried out on simple looms.

Artisanal dyeing gives each piece a unique depth and visual richness. This makes ikat a valuable product, the price of which reflects not only the beauty of the design, but also the time and skill required to make it. Cotton or silk textiles produced using this technique are now the subject of popular collections, perpetuating an ancient art that continues through the ages. Far from being relegated to the past, the tradition of ikat weaving remains a symbol of traditional textile art, offering products that are both functional and aesthetically remarkable.