Bāndhanī Work

bāndhanī work, Indian tie dyeing, or knot dyeing, in which parts of a silk or cotton cloth are tied tightly with wax thread before the whole cloth is dipped in a dye vat; the threads are afterward untied, the parts so protected being left uncoloured. The technique is used in many parts of India, but Gujarāt and Rājasthān produced, and are still noted for, the finest work. Surviving examples of the technique do not predate the 18th century, making it difficult to trace its earlier history.

The process is fairly laborious and largely confined to young working girls, who grow long fingernails with which they deftly handle the fabric. It consists of folding, tying, and dyeing the cloth in several stages; the final result is a fabric with a red or blue field patterned with white and yellow dots. Geometrical ornament is most popular, but animal and human figures and flowers are also introduced in elaborate examples.