The exotic designs of Bandhani Tie & Dye salwar kameez

Category: Academics

Bandhani or Bandhini or Bandhej, a highly-skilled process involving Tie-Dye method, has the base fabric tied at several points by threads and then the threads are dyed. The manner in which the tying is done decides the resulting pattern, which could be Leheriya, Mothra, Ekdali or Shikari. Patterns which emerge are generally dots, stripes, waves or squares. Dark Colours are employed for dyeing the ‘Bandhani’ and could be organic or man-made chemicals. Principally applied colours being red, green, blue, black or yellow, the background is generally red or black. The variety in Bandhani shalwar kamiz The Khatri community of Kutch in Gujarat is known to excel in Bandhani. Saurashtra in Gujarat, and Rajasthan again have their own style of Bandhani, unique to their regions. Designs and colours differ, with significance attached to certain colours. There is a special attraction to the Leheria Bandhej shalwar suits in the Bandhini range known for their unique wave designs, evolving from a brilliant exercise of the tie and dye art that has created waves in the fashion world for the simplicity and appealing look on plain coloured fabrics. Leheria work is done on silk or cotton fabrics and on long and broad canvases. Captivating process of the Bandhani salwar kamiz The process of getting the unique Leheria or wave design involves rolling the fabric and tying resists at various spots on the cloth and then rolled diagonally from one corner to the opposite selvage. This rolled fabric is then dyed according to the usual tie and dye process in bright colours. When the fabric is unfolded after dyeing, it leaves a lot of stripes or other shapes at intervals across the fabric in a design. Several tie and dye processes are undergone if required, to create a myriad of colourful stripes across the fabric length. Indigo is used in the last few stages of the process. Mothara is a special ‘lentil design’, popular and achieved by the re-rolling of the unfolded first stage in the opposite direction and the resist tied at the diagonal end and repeating the dye process. The resulting checkered design has un-dyed areas at regular intervals which are the size of a lentil.