Ikat weaving—a tradition that goes back hundreds of years and is still influencing textile design today—has a rich history in Central Asia. Calico’s Jan Jessup traveled to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to trace these influences that trekked along Silk Road trade routes from China all the way to the Mediterranean. She visited the legendary cities of Samarkand and Buhkara, Khiva and Merv plus the Fergana Valley in the east which still nurtures master ikat craftsmen and women.
What is ikat? “Tying a cloud!”
True ikat fabrics have the pattern tied and dyed in the yarn before the fabric is woven. Pronounced EE-khat, these textiles are incredibly labor intensive as the vertical warp yards or horizontal weft yarns are first bundled and bound tightly with strips of rubber in a set design--the better to resist the dye bath that colors all the exposed yarns. Although ikat is an Indonesian word that means “to bind”, the Uzbek word for this complex process is abrband, which means “tying a cloud”. In a multi-color fabric, this requires multiple wrappings and dye dips, a process that usually requires a whole workshop of artisans.
(L) The loose warp yarns that have been dyed are ready to be moved to the loom. (R) The warp at the front of the loom has been interwoven with white horizontal weft yarns to create a finished fabric.
Uzbekistan’s ikat tradition is noted for its bold colors and abstract designs. The design of the warp is distorted by the varying tension on the yarns when moved to the loom. This creates the feathery effect that makes ikat design distinctive.
The beauty of true ikat is that it’s not a print, but a process.
With other resist-dyeing techniques, such as batik and tie-dyeing, a wax or 'resist' is applied to the woven fabric. In ikat design, the resist is applied to the yarns before they are woven via rubber wrappings. Each inch of fabric is created by the hand and eye of the artisan. Ikat design is a living art, so ancient and yet so modern.
How ikat design spread
Silk Road traders carried the ikat technique from Northeast Asia to the steppes of Central Asia, down to India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Africa--and from there, ikats spread to Central and South America. Each part of the world developed its own characteristic patterns, using the fibers and fabrics cultivated and woven there.
A visit with a master ikat craftsman in the Fergana Valley
After flying to Tashkent, the bustling capital of Uzbekistan, Jan took a train the next day to Margilan, a city with a long history of silk production, in the Fergana Valley near the border with China. “I had visited the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, and had the name of an artisan whose ikat silks were sold in their shop: Aziz Murtazaev. My guide called his cooperative, Crafts Studio IkatUZ, and they said to come visit!” Jan recalls. “We were there in minutes.”
Aziz Murtazaev, pictured with his daughter, is a master ikat designer who runs a cooperative textile business with his brother Abaz and their father. The cooperative creates handwoven ikat fabrics and supports 18 home weavers, who work on their own looms using dyed warp yarns prepared at the workshop. At right, Aziz and an assistant lift skeins of silk warp yarns from a final dye bath. (Photos from International Folk Art Market)
At the cooperative, there are about 50 people overall who are involved in ikat production, both in silk, cotton and in silk/cotton blends. Ikats in Uzbekistan date back only to the 19th century and are noted for their bold colors and vibrant patterns. During Jan's visit, Aziz was in Indonesia calling on fashion designers and has also been a featured artisan at the International Folk Art Market in Sante Fe, New Mexico.
Jan Jessup with Abaz Murtazaev, who runs the cooperative with his brother Aziz, at the entrance to the showroom for their ikat silks, scarves, tunics and jackets. The brothers both wear the distinctive squared hat that men commonly wear in this part of Uzbekistan.
The name "Silk Road" was derived from the lucrative trade of silk, predominantly produced in China. When the Han dynasty expanded into Central Asia, this soft lustrous fabric grew in demand from as far away as Rome, Egypt, and Greece.
Uzbekistan was a key hub of the Silk Road, a network of land and sea routes spanning nearly 4,000 miles that connected Asia, East Africa, and Southern Europe from the second century BC to the mid-15th century. This fabled trade route largely ran through the steppe of Uzbekistan and its three major cities of Samarkan, Bukhara, and Khiva. More about Jan's visit to those areas in Part 2 coming soon!
Ikat design for today’s rooms
Ikat style today feels handmade, modern and has global appeal all at the same time. Although most textiles sold for home furnishings in the U.S. are not hand-dyed or hand-woven, ikat designs have movement and small irregularities that give them texture and character. Their versatile style works in traditional, eclectic, contemporary or bohemian spaces. They also pair well with neutral rooms and natural materials.
Here are some of Calico's favorite ikat designs in a range of styles and price points:
Fredonia is a flamestitch chenille woven ikat upholstery. Attica is a printed ikat stripe available in four vibrant colors.
Nicobar features multicolor ikat garlands of flowers. Indy has graceful zigs and zags for a flamestitch with movement and presence.
Argiana has a faux silk faille ground and a stunning floral lattice design. Becca Ikat shows the influences of ethnic ikat motifs from Central Asia.
True ikat fabrics require deep experience, artistic skill and time, which is why they become powerful symbols of wealth and status in many cultures. Today, textile designers at weaving mills and print converters draw on that handcrafted look to create ikat-inspired styles that are more widely available--and more affordable--for contemporary interiors.
