Description

Fabric: Modal Silk

Blouse: Contrast pattern, Unstitched, About 1 meter in length

Saree Length: 5.5 meters

Saree Width: 45 Inches

Colors: Black, Blue, Red, Off White

Pattern: Floral

Border: Black

Occasion: Daytime, Casual, Dressy

Care: Green dry cleaning or separate hand-wash in cold water and mild detergents. Some color may wash off in first few washes. Avoid frequent washing, reverse dry in shade and iron on reverse is recommended to preserve the beauty of this fabric.

Disclaimer: Characteristic imperfections associated with hand block natural dye printing maybe noticed. This is not a flaw but indicative of handmade process. Despite every effort to showcase each product’s color and design, please note that actual colors may vary due to different device settings and other factors.

This saree features the traditional colors of Ajrakh, signifying the universe. Deep warm crimson red symbolize the Earth, indigo blue the sky, black signifying the night and teeming whites strewn across the symmetrical patterns represent eternal light of the stars.

Made By: This saree on soft modal is handprinted by Khatri community in the Bhuj region of Kutch region of Gujrat and sourced from Kutch Hastkala. For traditional printers of this region Ajrakh printing with natural colors is a way of life that has continued for many generations.

Ajrakh: Traditionally, Ajrakh is the name of a hand block printed cloth with deep crimson red, indigo blue and black, bearing symmetrical patterns with interspersed unprinted sparkling white motifs. Red is acquired from alizarin found in the roots of madder plants. Natural Indigo comes from the leaves of plant called Indigofera tinctoria. The leaves are soaked in water and fermented, which converts the glycoside indican naturally present in the plant to the blue dye indigotin. The precipitate from the fermented leaf solution is mixed with a strong base such as lye. Black color formed from iron shavings, millet flour and molasses with the addition of ground tamarind seeds to thicken the dye. Lot of other colors seen on genuine Ajrakh are derived from other vegetable and natural sources. The history of this ancient craft of resist dyeing can be traced back to the civilizations of the Indus Valley that existed around 2500 BC-1500 BC. Ajrakh dyeing is a long and complex process involving about 14-16 steps. It can take 2-3 weeks to complete. The biggest threat to this craft comes from fast fashion businesses who have imitated these prints in pigment dyes, digital print and mill production.