Hand Block Printing – A textile tradition that has never been too old

Have you seen rows of flowers, leaves, elephants and patterns on a saree or a bed sheet? They look very beautiful and each print looks exactly the same. This is because they are not designed individually. Instead they are printed using wooden blocks. That's the beauty of hand block printing. The technique of hand block printing was introduced as early as 3000 BC. Historical evidence suggests that it was in practice during the Mesopotamian Civilization. The coins of that time have patterns engraved on them, which prove the existence of block printing in those times. This technique seems to have been in use even during the Indus valley civilisation. This practice of printing patterns on textiles using wooden blocks was well established in China before it reached India. It was somewhere around 12th century that hand block printing started gaining popularity in India. Many states in India today are engaged in hand block printing, among which Gujarat and Rajasthan are most prominent. Different techniques are used in this style of printing, namely direct block printing, discharge printing and resist printing. While the first style involves printing directly on the cotton or silk fabric using carved wooden blocks after it has been dyed, the second involves dyeing the fabric first and then removing the dye from those parts where designs are to be printed in a different color. The third is slightly more complicated as it involves covering the portion of the fabric which is not to be dyed using a paste of clay and resin, then dyeing it in a way that the color seeps in through the cracks of the covering and finally using this fabric for block printing. Apart from the techniques, the background on which the printing is done and the motifs used make all the difference in the hand block printing style used in ... http://www.shimply.com/articles/hand-block-printing-a-textile-tradition-that-has-never-been-too-old/

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