Saturday, January 7, 2012

New Year's Inspiration 3: Ikat

Hi friends,
My last two blogs shared some of my decorating inspirations for this year (large glass & mercury glass). Today I wanted to share a fabric with you that I am really currently digging: Ikat.

Ikat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ikat, or Ikkat, is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibres.
Bindings, which resist dye penetration, are applied to the threads in the desired patterns and the threads are dyed. Alteration of the bindings and the dyeing of more than one color produce elaborate, multicolored patterns. When all of the dyeing is finished the bindings are removed and the threads are ready to be woven into cloth.

The defining characteristic of ikat is the dyeing of patterns, by means of bindings, into the threads before cloth construction, the weaving of the fabric, takes place. Herein lies the difference between ikat and tie-dye. In tie-dye the fabric is woven first and the resist bindings are then applied to the fabric which is dyed.










Happy decorating & living-
Megan

1 comment:

  1. HiMegan,
    Hope this day finds you well.

    Just wanted to say that although I like this kind of material OK...it is not something I would rush right out to buy and change/update into my house. Call me old...but I think it is going to be in one minute and out the next. I may be wrong. Just don't think I will be making this a focus in my house.

    Reading a great one this week. You will live it. Called The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb. I am loving it and don't want it to end. Now that is a sign of a good book.

    Must get dinner ready so I can get to the gym to exercise....would rather be reading!

    B.

    ReplyDelete