Hand Block Printing

  

We are proud that all of our prints are done using hand block printing. Hand block printing is the earliest, simplest, and slowest of all textile printing methods. We work with a sustainable, fair trade, eco friendly block printing studio that was established in 1977 in Bangalore, India. All colors used for printing are GOTS certified and fade resistant.

Women color mixing by hand to find the right shades.

The technique begins with the artist who hand carves each design into a block of wood. For each color of the pattern, a different block is needed.

Carved wooden blocks ready for printing.

It's time to begin printing, once the fabric has been washed. The carved wood is dipped in the dye color and then expertly stamped onto the fabric, one block at a time, until the pattern is complete on the yardage. For each color, in the design, a separate block is used.

Once finished with printing and dying, the fabric is boiled, washed, and is dried in the sun.   

Our goal is to only print what is needed to reduce wastage. Since there is no electricity involved in the hand block printing technique, it requires a high percentage of people to complete all the required steps.

Take a look of some of the workers mixing the colors for the prints!