IKAT TENUN is traditional hand woven fabric from Indonesia where a unique resist dyeing technique is employed to create patterns in the textile. ‘Tenun’ refers to the weaving of the fabric using traditional wooden looms, and ‘Ikat’ refers to the resist dye method. The threads are dyed BEFORE weaving, and both faces are essentially identical whereas in other resist-dyeing techniques such as batik and tie-dye, the resist is applied to only one face of the fabric.
The resist patterns are formed by binding bundles of threads with a tight wrapping and then dyed. The bindings are then altered and the re-wrapped thread is then dyed again in another colour to produce elaborate, multi-coloured patterns. When the dyeing is finished the bindings are removed and the threads are woven into cloth. The pattern only emerges once the fabric is woven.
