Indian Block Printing: 5000 Years of Colorful Beauty

Before the printing can begin, wood crafters have to carve the wooden blocks. The designs are intricate and the printers need a different block for each color in the design. Imagine the precision that goes into making the blocks for any multi-color design. Look at the blue flowers that seem to grow from the green and gold vines in this photo. Do you see how each flower is rimmed in red?

The red rim is made with a different block than the blue flower. So can you imagine the precision the wood carvers need to carve the rim on one block and the flower on another? And that type of precision is visible in every square inch of the cloth.

As many as five different carvers may work on a set of blocks for a single design for a cloth. And it can take those carvers three days to make the set. When the carving is finished, the carvers soak the blocks in oil to soften the wood and prepare it to absorb the dyes.

When the intricate work of preparing the wooden blocks is complete, the printers start on the fabric. The printers first pad a long rectangular table with jute to cushion the printing process. Then the printers pin the fabric to be printed onto the jute padding. Cotton is the most common type of fabric for block printing, although silk is sometimes used. Now the printers are ready to use one of three printing methods to print the fabric.

Of the three methods of block printing, the most straightforward is the direct method. A printer first dyes the entire cloth a single color that becomes the background color of the design. Then the printers apply the dye from the wood blocks on top of the background color. One printer will work along the length of the fabric printing the fabric with one color. Then another printer will come along behind her, using a different block to print the fabric with another color.

This is how they do it: A printer dips the wood block into the dye then applies the block to the fabric, holding the block by a handle on its back. The printer uses the points carved into the wooden blocks as guidelines for placement. Once the block is in place, the printer slams the top of it hard with her fist to make a clear impression on the fabric with the dye.

Look again at the same picture we saw above. We saw how the carvers needed to carve each line with such precision that the red rim was carved into a different block of wood from the blue flower. But now think of this: each printer needs to place each wood block on the fabric in exactly the right place, so that each red rim aligns exactly against each blue flower.

The second method of printing is the discharge method. As with the direct method, a printer dyes an entire piece of cloth a single color which becomes the background color of the design. But with discharge printing, the printers don't apply the design on top of the background color. Rather, the printers bleach the background color out from the portions of the cloth that with receive the dye from the wooden blocks. Once the background color has been bleached out, the printers apply the dye from the wood blocks as though they were using the direct method.

And finally, there is the resist method. When the resist method is used, the printers don't dip the wood blocks into dye. Instead they dip them into an impermeable resist, such as resin, wax or clay. With the resist still attached to the cloth, the printers dye the cloth whole. When the dye has dried, the printers remove the resist, creating the design in reverse.

Indian block print fabrics are highly individual pieces of work. Each piece of fabric is created by hand - by a large number of hands. And since each inch of dye is applied by hand, the printers can customize the color scheme to suit the customer. The printers can also change the order of the wood blocks to vary the pattern from one piece of fabric to another. Finally, they can choose different types of fabric to do the printing on. So, even though the same blocks may be used from one piece of fabric to another, each piece can have a look, and an appeal, completely different from any other.

Once these pieces of block print fabric are so painstakingly made, you can do different things with them. Block print fabrics can be made into clothing - wrap skirts, jackets and vests. One often sees Indian block print bedspreads. But why limit their use to the bed? Hang one in the window; tack one to a wall; envelope an old chair or love seat. Use a block print tablecloth in the dining room or on a picnic. Create a backing for a bedspread with interfacing or coordinating fabric and spread it on the floor. You can even nail each corner of a bedspread into the ceiling of your bedroom to suggest a type of nomadic tent.

After the carvers and the printers have used such precise and painstaking care in making your fabric, you should be sure to use it creatively, and often.