CRAFTS OF INDIA / LEHERIA / PROCESS

CRAFTS OF INDIA / LEHERIA / PROCESS

- The process involves rolling the fabric and tying resists at various spots on the cloth rolled diagonally from one corner to the opposite selvage.

- Selvage is the self finished edges in a fabric as a result of looping back the thread from the weft (perpendicular thread to the waft threads) at the end of each row length of the fabric that prevents the fabric from unravelling or fraying. The selvages are a result of how the fabric is created.

- This rolled fabric is then dyed according to the usual tie and dye process in bright colours.

- When the fabric is unfolded after dyeing, it leaves a lot of stripes or other shapes at intervals across the fabric in a design.

- Several tie and dye processes are undergone if required, to create a myriad of colourful stripes across the fabric length. Indigo is used in the last few stages of the process.

- Mothara is a special ‘lentil design’, popular and achieved by the re-rolling of the unfolded first stage in the opposite direction and the resist tied at the diagonal end and repeating the dye process. The resulting checkered design has un-dyed areas at regular intervals which are the size of a lentil.

- Today Leheria Sarees and salwar kameez have wooed the fashion world with their unique designer prints.

- It has been said by a textile expert Mita Kapur "The famous leheriya (zigzag pattern of irregular colour stripes) is a visual invocation of the flow of water at the same time painstakingly showing the depths of indigo after multiple mud-resistant and dyeing processes. No small wonder that the blues in leheriya attract the eyes instinctively”.

- Traditional leheria employs natural dyes and multiple washes and uses indigo or alizarin during the final stage of preparation.

- Leheria turbans were a part of male business attire in Rajasthan during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

- Leheria is still produced in Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, and Nathdwara. It is offered for sale with most of its resist ties still in place as proof of authenticity, with a small portion of fabric unrolled to display its pattern.