Hand dyed and Hand woven in Bali Indonesia

Cotton and Silk

43 inches wide by 80 inches long

This gorgeous one-of-a-kind textile combines at least two dyeing techniques to create a unique visual effect.  The foundation is called Endek, which is a Balinese style of ikat in which the weft threads are dyed before they are woven.  The motifs are created using a thread resist for each color that makes up the design.  The fabric is woven after this dyeing process is completed, resulting in the distinctive blurry look we recognize as ikat, the name for which comes from Indonesia and means to bind or tie. You can see this Endek pattern clearly in the third image; the series of shadowy orange lozenge shapes are visible in the green border.

What makes this genre of Endek Jumputan even more interesting is that the fabric is taken through a second dyeing process, after the fabric is woven, called Jumputan.  The word jumput means the action of pinching and refers to pinches of fabric that are taken and then bound with thread and selectively dyed to create a second series of patterns on top of the first Endek dyeing.  It is possible that in addition to the Endek and Jumputan dyeing there is another layer of color added using stamp printing (called cap (pronounced chop) or hand-painting in particular areas to create crisp shapes.

These fabrics are created as sarongs, rather than woven as yardage, and are typically two meters in length.  The ends are unfinished.

These fabrics are not necessarily color-fast and care should be taken in what they are used for and how they are cleaned.  We suggest trying whatever cleaning method you attempt on a corner before exposing the entire piece of fabric.

Photography - Bruce Falkinburg

Instagram: @bruce_falkinburg