Rajasthani Bandhani Work

Rajasthani Bandhani Work
The term 'bandhani' refers to both the technique and to the finished cloth. Etymologically, it means tying up. The work involves tying and dyeing of the cloth, in that order, respectively. In India, Rajasthan and Gujarat are famed for their production of very fine and prolific bandhani. Coarser bandhani is made in Sindh and Madhya Pradesh. The rural women wear the odhni, which is made with this technique. The color is a striking yellow with white dots, set in floral or geometric patterns against a deeper color- black, brown, red or madder. The technique of Bandhani Tie and Dye consists of two stages- First, sections of cloth are tied. The cloth is either cotton or silk. The cloth is folded into four or more layers. Nowadays, a thin sheet of stiff, clear plastic is pierced with
pin holes forming the desired pattern. Another method is that of tying the knots, too many of them, forming a pattern by itself. This method is followed in Kutch. The fineness of the bandhani is determined by the minuteness of the tied textile. The second stage involves two stages: tying sections of a length of cloth (silk or cotton) and then dunking it into vats of color. After the initial tying, the cloth is usually dyed with yellow or another light color. Once it has been rinsed, squeezed and dried, the cloth is tied again in the pattern to appear as yellow dots, and then dyed in darker colors such as green or red. If darker colors like black, brown etc are required, the cloth is tied again in pattern that will appear as green or red dots. The parts of cloth not meant to be dyed by the darkest are strictly wrapped in plastic. The cloth is then washed and starched, if required. The Japanese version of tie and dye is called shibori. Shibori comes from the word ‘shiboru’ meaning wring, squeeze or press. It is one of the finest techniques of tie and dye. When the cloth is treated with shibori, it gives a soft or blur like effect. bandhaniproduct, whether a dupatta, saree, skirt or a complete salwar kameez. Images sourced from Google search with the term 'Bandhani'