Indian Block Printing

Indian block printed gowns in the Mr & Mrs store

The art of Indian block printing is an ancient tradition dating back to approx. 2600 BC. The earliest and the slowest of all printing techniques, it gives a result so fine and so exquisite that it is unobtainable through machine printing. It has survived from ancient times due to the beauty of handmade products. From traditional Indian designs to modern versions, block-printed fabrics add solid style with pattern and texture.

The process of block printing takes time, team work and immense skill. Block prints can range from a simple, single-color print to complex, multiple coloured, bold and striking prints. The three main tools of block printed fabrics are the wooden blocks, the fabric and the dye. Traditional block-printing is hand printed, using vegetable dye - the oldest of colouring techniques.

The hand blocks are carved out of wood and are the simplest of printing devices. It can take five carvers up to three days to create an intricate design in a block of teak for use as a printing block. Printers may use up to 30 blocks to complete a design.

The traditional vegetable colours were red, yellow, indigo and saffron made from pomegranate rind, madder and turmeric. The fabric is normally cotton, though silk is also used. The fabric is stretched over a table, fastened with pins, and the craftsmen begin the printing.

Close up of Indian block printed gown

Each colour is printed from a separate wooden block carved to print that specific pattern. Separate blocks are required for each of the colours used in a design and it is not unusual to have four or five colours in a professional design. It can take twenty people, each doing a separate task, up to eight hours to prepare a single block printed garment. With all this, the results can only be unique.

In direct hand block printing the carved wooden block is dipped in colour and then pasted and the colour printed on fabric. Sometimes an outline of the pattern is stamped in black and then the colour filled in. In resist printing the wooden block is smeared with wax or mud and then imprinted on fabric. The fabric is then dyed and the wax melted and the mud washed to reveal original block patterns. The whole process of imprinting yards of fabric is time consuming and takes the collective expertise of the printers to get the continuous evenness of the pattern.

Printing is done from left to right. When the printer is using the direct block print method, the printer dips the block into the dye then presses it onto the fabric. The printer slams the back of the block hard with the fist to create a clear impression. Then the printer moves the block to the next portion of fabric to be dyed, using points on the block to serve as a guide for the placement of the block.

As they work, the printers pull a wooden cart bearing their blocks along with them. The wooden blocks can be interchanged from one piece of fabric to another, creating different patterns. Custom designs and different colours can be used from one fabric to another, creating still more individual work.

Each colour of a design is done by a different printer, coming behind the one before and repeating the process. The process requires teamwork, as each subsequent printer must place the block accurately to create a beautiful, whole pattern.

Once the pattern is finished on the whole length of fabric, the piece is treated to fix the dyes. First, the fabric is dried in the sun. Once dried, the fabric is rolled in newspapers and steamed in special boilers. After steaming, the fabric is washed, dried in the sun again, and ironed. Each of these steps contributes to fixing the pigment and making the colours rich and vibrant.

And it seems to work. This process of block printing has been used for centuries and is still in vogue. These versatile and unexpected prints can transform home decor, the secret in balancing the elements of the room lies in keeping the same colour combination and making sure the scale and space of each pattern is different. Lately it seems like you can't turn your head without finding a mixed pattern trend, so don’t be afraid to mix block-printed fabric with other patterns and styles.

In order to create a pattern, areas of cloth have to be prepared to resist the dye. This is usually done by block printing with a paste that prevents the dye from penetrating the fabric, but other methods such as tie-dye are also used.

As each length is printed it is dusted with saw dust to stop it from smudging before it is totally dry. The printed cloth is then dried in the sun before dripping in the vat.

As the cloth is drawn out it looks greenish, but on exposure to the air the indigo oxidises and regains its original blue state. Each time the cloth is dipped and exposed to the air a darker shade of blue is achieved. Often the cloth is reprinted with a different block to reserve patterns in a lighter blue before dipping again.