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Vintage Bali Ikat of the 'Ogoh-Ogoh Demon' from the 1980's - $25 (Asheville)
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When it comes to incredible textile dyeing techniques, Indonesia is the place to be. While batik might get the lion’s share of attention—and it really does produce a beautiful product—ikat (pronounced ee-kaht) is undeniably impressive, too. Like batik—and even classic American tie dye—ikat is a resist-dyeing technique: Yarns are bundled and bound with string then dyed to create patterns. But as designer Angie Hranowsky explains, there’s something quite unique about ikat: “Unlike batiks and other techniques, ikat yarns are dyed before they are woven into the cloth, making for a very complicated but beautiful process.” As such, it takes incredible skill to become an ikat artisan!
Pre-weaving dyeing techniques developed independently in regions all around the world—notably in the South American Andes, the Middle East, and all throughout Asia—over the past two millennia. But the strongest concentration of this textile production was in Indonesia, where the ikat technique took its name from Malay word mengikat, which means “to tie.” Ikat reached the Western world in the 20th century via Dutch traders in Southeast Asia and travelers along the Silk Road (the region that is now Uzbekistan was another hub for the technique, where it is called atlas by the Uyghurs.)