What is Ajrakh Print ?
Ajrakh print has an old story to share. The phrase ‘ Old is Gold’ suits well to this Indian printing craft. Its history can be traced back to the ancient civilizations of Indus valley, from around 2500 B.C. to 1500 B.C. Its identity, like that of handloom was also lost in the 19th century. We know that love, value and belief, on the product, are the three main criteria for the customers to buy the product and for the sellers, to promote the product.
Ajrakh Print History..
Ajrakh belongs to the Sindh region, and later it came to settle in Kutch of Gujarat and then in Barmer of Rajasthan. Ajrakh is more than 4000 years old and is indigenous to the sub-continent of India. Mohenjodaro’s priest king’s idol claimed to have worn product with Soorajmukhi motifs.
This printing carft got appreciation by fashion designers as well as critiques for sustainable prints and longevity of cloth. Sustainable fashion, which has been integral part of Ajrakh, is again in style on ramps.This craft glamour never died because of its utility and comfort. Ajrakh Print is made from all the five elements of nature, which are, water, mud, air, heat and spiritual force.
Clothes like sarees, Kurta, wrap and round skirts (dhoti), veil cloth, gathered skirt, scarves etc. makes good use of this craft’s skills and look fabulous. We have adopted Ajrakh Print style in our Ajrakh Print fabrics & Ajrakh Print scarves and successfully placed them in the market.
Ajrakh Printing Process..
Ajrakh Print includes a sequence of arduous and time taking processes. Let us take you through extraordinary formation process.
The first step is to cleanse the cotton fabric to remove starch. The second step is to wash it with Myrobalan solution which act as a mordant. Then first markings are with a resist of gum Arabic and lime with the blocks. Again, block prints on both sides of the cloth (dopuri) with the ink of jaggery, iron scrap and tamarind. The other kind is Ekpuri in which only one side printing is done.Then resist print with clay, alum and gum Arabic mixture. After all these steps, it gets a dip in different natural solutions like indigo ,alizarin, madder root, henna or rhubarb to get its favourite color ranging form Indigo to yellow to brown and then, extra dye and resist removed by one/two more washes.
Ajrakh Print Motifs…
It comes out as an adorable bright cloth with beautiful motifs (Kakkar, Galeecho, Chowkadi Badam, Ajrakh Buta, Minkudi, Riyal, Surajmukhi, Challo, Amri Mohar, Kharek, Wat/Wal, Madha Golo, Bopai or Ajrakh Kungri etc). All the natural ingredients used in the procedure make this cloth glow. This Printing craft also collaborates with other crafts like Rogan, Bandhani, Batik, Shibori etc. to give better products. For prints to be flawless, it is essential that the block for the resist printing should be perfectly carved. Block makers or Poregars, use the simplest of tools to carve the wooden blocks in pairs. The blocks are mirror carvings of each other for both sides of a cloth (dopuri). It is a long procedure but the wait is worth as the product comes out excellent.
Have a glimpse of our Ajrakh Scarves Collection by clicking the link below:
https://vrittidesigns.com/product-category/accessories/scarves-stoles/
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Send us an email at contact@vrittidesigns.com to have your own custom designs in Ajrakh Prints textile Products.
Team Vritti Designs…
