Ajrakh and bandhani fabric can be made into scarves and stoles, saris, dress fabric by the metre, cushion covers, quilts and bedspreads, table linen, bags and ready-made garments. The craft sets the fabric width and the repeat, and the product then has to be cut and sewn around those, so the best results come when the product is designed with the cloth in mind rather than imposed on it. Both crafts are made in Kutch, with Ajrakh centred on Ajrakhpur and Bhuj and bandhani in Bhuj and Jamnagar.
Ajrakh is resist block printing with natural dyes, typically in indigo, madder red, black and white, with several printing and dyeing stages. Bandhani is tie-dye, where thousands of tiny points are tied by hand before dyeing, giving a dotted pattern on a soft, slightly puckered cloth. The two behave differently in sewing and in use, which affects what each suits.
Product ideas by craft
- Scarves and stoles: the simplest product for both crafts, cut from the loom width with hemmed or fringed ends. Bandhani stoles in silk or fine cotton and Ajrakh stoles in cotton or modal are the mainstay of most importers' ranges.
- Saris and dupattas: traditional formats, usually for the diaspora market or for customers who wear them as wraps. These follow fixed lengths and borders set by the craft.
- Dress fabric by the metre: Ajrakh is sold in running lengths for garment makers, and bandhani by the metre is possible but the puckered surface needs steaming before cutting.
- Cushion covers: Ajrakh works well because the layout can be printed to size, with a border placed to suit the cushion. Bandhani cushions are softer and better for decorative rather than hard-wearing use.
- Quilts and bedspreads: Ajrakh panels quilted in Kutch, or printed cloth sent to a stitching unit in Ahmedabad for larger items, are popular in home ranges.
- Table linen: runners, napkins and tablecloths in Ajrakh, usually pre-washed to reduce dye transfer in the first washes.
- Bags and accessories: tote bags, pouches and laptop sleeves cut from offcuts or short lengths, which also uses printing seconds well.
- Garments: shirts, dresses, kaftans and jackets made by a stitching unit from Ajrakh yardage, or bandhani tops where the stretch of the puckered cloth is a feature.
Practical points before you design
Ajrakh cloth is usually printed in standard widths that suit hand printing, so a product wider than that needs a seam or a different plan. Printed repeats and borders fall where the printer places them, and a cut-to-size product needs the layout agreed before printing starts. Bandhani is sold tied and partly untied, and the puckered texture relaxes when stretched or ironed, so finished measurements should be taken after steaming.
Both crafts use natural dyes in their traditional form, with the colourfastness that implies. Products that will be washed often, such as napkins, should be pre-washed by the maker and labelled for cool washing. Products that stay dry, such as wall hangings and stoles, keep their colour longest.
How we handle this
We visit the printing and tying workshops, confirm who makes the cloth and who stitches it, and consolidate pieces from several small makers into one shipment with inspection before packing. Dye fastness is checked on sealed samples at an NABL-accredited laboratory. If you want to work out which products suit a craft and a budget, we offer a free 20-minute sourcing review.