Block Printing - the ethnic soul of India’s cultural heritage

13-Oct-2020 BY Admin

Indian traditional handlooms are well-known for its outstanding designs, motifs, and styles. The art of Indian block printing textiles is labour-intensive and painstaking process that beholds its existence since the bygone era because of its graceful handmade products.Block printing is one of the most famous traditional handloom which is a form of dying and printing a fabric using wooden blocks on fabric. The art is usually done on linen, cotton, and silk fabrics that soaks the print well and looks gracefully beautiful. Hand Block Printing is done on a large-scale at different places like Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. Of all these places, Block Printing in Rajasthan is widely famous for its ethic and cultural touch in the process. 

The block printing process takes time, teamwork and especially, skill, and more. The most important tools of this process includes wooden blocks, the fabric, and the dye. The blocks are firstly carved with multiple designs of flower, leaf, animals, etc.There are many skilled artisans practicing the art from more than decades. Excellence in this art comes by experience and this fact is proven here by Rajasthan’s talented artisans located in Bagru and Sanganer villages belonging to Chippa community. 

The process of block printing involves the following steps - 

• Washing and drying the fabric
• If a tie-dye process is required, then it is needed to be done before the process of block printing Bagru starts. Then it is washed to remove the excess. 
• Spread the fabric on a plain table and secure it using pins. 
• Prepare the colours for printing the designs contrasting to the base colour. 
• Soak the wood block in the oil for 10-15 days to soften the timber and spread the color evenly on fabric.
• Depending upon the number of colors in one design, wooden blocks are made in such a way. 
• The wood blocks are damped on a color tray to observe the paint then it is printed on a fabric. 
• Once the fabric is printed, it is dried under the heat of sun to let the fabric retain the original colors. 
• Wash it and dry. 

Block Printing Jaipur is one of the most loved traditional art of India which receives applause from all the textile lovers and fashionaires. If you are desiring to have a closure to this art, then the most amazing way is to go on a Block Printing Jaipur Workshop where you can learn this art right from the talented craftsmanship and get a chance to witness the process from the closet.