Ikat Weaving in Indonesia - The Poetry of the Loom 

 

Every day in villages across the many islands of Indonesia, children are watching wide-eyed as their mothers and grandmothers pass fabric between each other. Each ikat textile passes through many hands as it is spun, dyed and woven, creating a completely unique fabric with its very own history and DNA. A rich diversity stems from the history behind this incredibly thoughtful process in a ritual that has stood the test of time. 

 

Sumba - an island that lies to the south of Flores in Indonesia and the origin of our first ever collection. As with many Southeast Asian countries, textiles play a significant role in the history, traditions and culture of Indonesia. One of the most stunning and prominent techniques used in Sumba is ikat - a resist-dyeing process that involves tie-dyeing the yarns before they are woven into cloth to produce a traditional pattern featuring intricate motifs that are closely tied to ancient belief systems.

 

According to an ancient cultural tale, the story behind ikat is that Sumba is composed of matter gathered in a cloth woven by the celestial python, secured by ties at each end. Ikat work then is essential on the east and west sides of the island to prevent leakage of the “life saps”.

 

Passed down from generation to generation, ikat is a careful, respected and painstaking process that begins with the yarn. High-quality cotton or silk fibres are sourced and cleaned. Many of the Indonesian communities will grow, soften and comb through the cotton themselves, using handcrafted wooden tools. The yarns are first stretched out over a wooden loom, the design is marked out, and then the fibres are carefully grouped and sections are wrapped using a dye-resistant material such as strips of palm leaves. The textile is then immersed in a series of dye baths; the sections of yarn left exposed take on the dye, while the portions that are wrapped remain undyed. This is repeated multiple times for each of the dye colours over and over again; wrapping, dyeing, and unwrapping each time in a careful process to create the intricate design. 

 

The warp yarns are again stretched over a wooden loom and weft dyed yarns woven intricately in order to correctly produce the pattern. The entire process can take up to 12 months to complete. Every strand is matched as closely as possible to the correct position, resulting in the ikat’s characteristic blurred appearance. 

 

Traditionally and expertly crafted textiles like ikat serve their own purpose within the community. The look and function of an ikat textile varies depending upon which part of Sumba it has come from. For example, in West Sumba ikat is typically blue-black contrasted with white; a representation of birth into light and life, and death into darkness. Whereas in East Sumba, textiles are typically brighter, featuring vibrant red-brown hues. The larger textiles (hinggi) are used in various rituals and religious ceremonies. Men often wear them on a day-to-day basis too, with a larger piece wrapped around the waist and another smaller piece draped over the shoulders. Formerly, the hinggi was a hierarchical device, with commoners wearing a blue and white hinggi, while nobility wore a red and blue ikat-striped hinggi.