Indian Fabric Prints and Traditional Patterns on Textiles

Indian fabric prints and patterns are a vibrant testament to the country’s rich cultural heritage and artistic prowess. India has a rich history related to textiles and their centuries-old techniques have been passed down through generations.

The people of India have been in this business for more than 2000 years. Textile has always played an important role in Indian trade and business. India exports its textile products to numerous countries to boost their economy and strengthen international relationships. We can see clear traces of different types of Indian textiles in Rome, the USA, the UK, China, and Egypt.

We all know that India is a country that has various cultures, rituals, traditions, and geographic landscapes. Its varied geographical regions and climates provide a huge range of plant fibers and natural dyes that they use to manufacture various types of textile items.

You will see unique styles in the textile products according to the region and also these styles reflect the cultural diversity and artistic brilliance of its people.

We have explained here Indian fabric prints and traditional patterns in every detail according to their uniqueness, style, etc.

Block Prints

Block printing is also known as “stamping” or “hand block printing”. It is the oldest, and simplest of all methods of textile printing. Also, it is the slowest technique as craftsmen do this printing by hand.

To do this printing craftsmen use a piece of wood that is cut and carved by hand. Then the stamp is impregnated with vegetable dye and applied to the textile. Vegetable dye is a mixture of natural pigments and water.

Various types of wood can be used for block printing e.g. Teak wood (known as Sagaun in India), Indian rosewood, pine, etc. The first part of block printing is to create wood blocks in various patterns.

Then these designs will be placed on the fabric with different colors, each block has its own color. As this is done manually so not all products will be identical. You may see some difference in every product in terms of color, brightness, designs etc.

You can do multi-color printing in block printing and for this various blocks are used like background block, outline block, and filler block.

This printing can be done on any kind of fabric, but it is mostly used on cotton and silk fabric. This is used on a wide range of clothing like sarees, scarves, shirts, and dresses, as well as home textiles like curtains, tablecloths, and cushion covers.

Bandhani print

Bandhani, also known as Bandhej, is a tie and dye method. The word Bandhani is derived from the Sanskrit word Banda.

This particular type of print was introduced by the Khatris in the Indian state of Gujarat. Khatris are traditionally cloth dyers & printers. This printed fabric is mainly produced in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.

This print has remained popular among people for many years. To make Bandhani prints, small knots are made on the cloth and tied in different designs and then they are colored with different colors.

This type of print is done on cotton, georgette and chiffon fabrics. Bandhani is used to create beautiful garments for both men and women.

Women’s products related to bandhani print are sarees, Anarkali, lehengas, kurti, dupattas, skirts, gowns etc.

Men’s products related to bandhani print are kurtas, sherwanis, Nehru jackets, turbans, ties, etc.

Kalamkari print

The word Kalamkari is made of two words i.e. Kalam (Pen) and Kari (craftmanship). So if a person does artwork on cotton fabric with the help pen then we can say it Kalamkari. 

There are more than twenty steps that are used in this type of work. Craftsmen use only natural dyes in Kalamkari printing. The pen that is used in this printing is made of bamboo.

This type of artwork is mainly done in India & Iran. Andhra Pradesh (Indian State) is very famous for this printing. There are two major forms of Kalamkari print i.e. Srikalahasthi & Machilipatnam style. 

Artisans create many kinds of products with Kalamkari printing e.g. sarees, shawls, cushion covers, bedspreads, wall hangings, bags, curtains etc.