What Is: Ikat

Hi Again. I was having technical difficulties which caused me to lose my last post about the house we are trying to purchase so I thought it might have been a sign. I will not repost anything regarding the house until everything is settled and we close in May (if it all works out). Sorry for the head fake on that one.

Anyway, a few readers of this blog have been asking for explanations of design terms or current trends. I thought it would be fun to have a section called, "What Is", where I aqwwill feature and explain different terms, trends and items we witness in the world of interior design (and beyond).

So today I will talk about ikat. Ikat weaving is a method in which threads or yarns are tie dyed before weaving and then woven into a pattern or design. Wikepedia give a great explanation - a little lengthy but interesting nonetheless:

Ikats created by dyeing the warp are the easiest to make. Before the warp strings are attached to the loom they are arranged into bundles. Each bundle is tied and dyed separately, so that a pattern will emerge when the loom is set up. This takes a good deal of skill. The tightly bound bundles are sometimes covered with wax or some other material that will keep the dyes from penetrating. The process is repeated several times for additional colors.
Some patterns have many strands in the cloth that are all dyed the same way which creates a blocky design. In some weaving traditions each strand of the cloth may be dyed differently from the ones next to it. Usually the pattern repeats in symmetrical or asymmetrical ways. In the illustration above, the right side of the weaving is identical to the left. To make these elaborate patterns the weaver will still bundle and dye several threads together, but when the loom is prepared, a single thread will be used from each bundle for each section of the pattern. Elaborate ikat patterns like this are often handed down from generation to generation in the same family.
After the threads are dyed the loom is set up. The pattern is visible to the weaver when the dyed threads are used as warp. Threads can be adjusted so that they line up correctly with each other. Some ikat styles (like in Japan and Guatemala) don't try to get the patterns precisely lined up, others (like in Timor in Indonesia) the patterns are so accurate, that you have to look closely to determine that the pattern was not printed on the cloth.
Dying the weft makes it much more difficult to make ikats with precise patterns. The weft is one continuous strand that is woven back and forth, so any errors in how the string is tied and dyed are cumulative. Because of this, weft ikats are usually used when the precision of the pattern is not the main concern. Some patterns become transformed by the weaving process into irregular and erratic designs. However, the precise images of Japanese ikats are made from weft ikat when they are not double ikats.
Double ikats are the most difficult to produce. In the finest examples from India and Indonesia, the warp and the weft are precisely tied and dyed so that the patterns interlock and reinforce each other when the fabric is woven.
The most precise ikat is the Japanese oshima -- thrice-woven cloth. The warp and weft threads are used as warp to weave stiff fabric, upon which the thread for the ikat weaving is spot-dyed. Then the mats are unraveled and the dyed thread is woven into oshima cloth.

Many fabric companies carry versions of ikat patterns as seen above in green (Thibaut). Schummacher has a beautiful blue ikat as featured on the back to back sofas in this dreamy Jamaican Living room below. (Veranda Magazine)


If you can't muster up the courage or coin to do a sofa in an ikat pattern, ikat pillows have become very popular and easy to access. If you don't already know about Uzbek-Craft , check it out and bookmark it. They carry amazing ikat and suzani (an upcoming "what is" topic) fabrics and pillows at *very* affordable prices around 30 dollars a pillow:





Or there are always high end options - the costlier (is that a word?) Madeline Weinrib pillows which start around 400-, yes 400-, dollars (gasp). You should bookmark her website though - her products are beautiful and of the highest quality.
Also, keep in mind that many big retailers like PB pick up on these trends and will feature fun, less- expensive themed items like napkins or trays with ikat patterns and even fun shams. These fabrics are just flat printed to give the look of an ikat - and can even be more fun and modern looking. If you don't want to make a big jump to reupholster your favorite chair in all over ikat - start small and see if you like the look. My sister has the blue shams below from PB which she pulls out when the weather starts to warm up in the spring and summer months.
A trend like ikat isn't going to last forever, but I still love it. Hope this explanation has helped...