at home in India again!

This is my home near Jaipur in a restored 18th c "haveli" castle

WomenWeave is an organization dedicated to empowering & improving the lives of women who weave in rural India.

I was very happy to find their stall at a craft showcase fair in Delhi.

These scarves and wraps are handspun, handwoven, in pure cotton handprinted with botanical source dyes.  They have a lovely soft nubby texture and of course each handwoven piece is unique.

handwoven cotton shawl in iron black print

detail of the handspun, handwoven texture

Tashi was managing the booth

embroidery detail on edging

The Poetry Reader

another romantic photo by Carol Gibson for Sarah Clothes

model, the exquisite late Joan McCarthy

A bit of nostalgia

Andree's illustration for Sarah Clothes 1980

enjoy lazing around in your August!

see you in September

Do you remember Sarah Clothes?

Sarah invented the "primitive pleat" technique to create textured voile inspired by Sikh turbans she noticed on her first trip to India in 1975

How did she get the idea?

When Sarah was a teenager growing up in California she learned to make Navaho "broomstick skirts" which were pleated by binding a wet cotton skirt around a broomstick

This romantic Sarah Clothes image was created by photographer Carol Gibson

You can custom order authentic cotton voile Sarah Skirts at Sister Bazaar

I have revived her original pattern and improved the waistband with an adjustable drawstring on a yoke

Sarah skirts at rest!

About bandhani tie dye work

the Little Goddess surveying her garden

Bandhej is the craft of wrapping tiny points of fabric in thread to create a dotted pattern

the threads are intact on this demo scarf

These scarves were created in Jaipur, famous for bandhej sarees

A saree will be pressed out flat, but I like the wonderful raised texture as is

Andree in Jaipur checking sample print colours

Andree's table- print design development

 

   About botanical-source dyes

Botanically-sourced dyes have been part of India's rich cultural heritage for many centuries.  In Rajasthan, where these fabrics are printed, a shrinking number workshops continue to create these labour intensive blockprints.

Black colour is created using a fermentation of scrap iron and raw jaggery sugar.  Rusty red is made with a mixture of roots and flowers steeped in a fixative of dried pomegranate skins.  The dyes are steeped and fermented for many days until they are ready to be mixed with plant gum to make ink for wood block printing.

Green botanical print 6-button jacket

Green Botanical print detail

about wood block printing

the first impression with a new block

first trial run with new wood blocks and ink colour swatches

a printer working his way down the long table

 the printer quickly registers each block repeat 

 

it's exciting testing newly designed blocks!

Andree consulting with the master block carver