Handwoven Cotton/silk Ikat Chapan ONE SIZE (S/L) Length 135 cm With pockets Limited production Chapan 30% silk,70%cotton made from handwoven ikat which are unique (the technology of ikat manufacturing is quite complicated and includes 37 steps) . Ikat is a method of fabric making where the pattern is created prior to weaving through the process of resist-dye of the yarns. Central Asian ikats are warp dyed which means the warp – the lengthwise yarn – is manipulated to create the pattern. The workshop cultivates their own silk – a technique also originated in East Asia and brought to Central Asia through the Silk Road. Silk processing is tedious but the silk yarns give ikat its highly-valued sheen. Before any weaving takes place, a master weaver decides on a pattern from hundreds he has committed to memory while his helpers bundle the yarns and lay them out on a 2×2 meter frame. He then draws the pattern on the outstretched bundles using a sharpened stick dipped in oil and charcoal, marking where the threads are to be bound. His assistant will wrap the bundles at these specific spots using dye-resistant threads of cotton soaked in wax. The yarn bundles are then transferred to the dye bath in the exact order they are on the frame otherwise the pattern would be broken. In the case of multiple color ikat – after each dye-bath, the bundles are left to dry then re-stretched on the frame for the second round of binding and dyeing. The genius of the master craftsman is in strategizing the steps so that the next dye bath adds onto the previous to either forms a pattern in its own shade or combine with the previously dyed parts to make a new color. With natural dyeing, each color may require a different temperature and condition so this is also something to take into account. From the basis of less than five natural colors, the artisans can create a variety of colors and an unlimited possibility of pattern combination. The points where the yarn bundles are tied to the 2×2 meter frame result in a line repeating every two meters or so in the final woven fabric. This line distinguishes handmade from machine-made ikats and is an inevitable feature of traditional ikat weaving. This process produces no more than 40 inches of fabric a day.