Itajime Silk Kaftan - Balti

Our one-size, relaxed-fit Kaftan is crafted from luxurious silk, hand-dyed using the itajime clamp dye technique by two of India's foremost master craftsmen in Bhuj, Gujarat. The fabric has an exquisite touch and flow. An easy throw on; wear it as a kaftan-style dress or over jeans.

This style features a V-neck, side slits and cuff-sleeves that fall above the elbow.

Please note that every piece of fabric is clamped and dyed individually, so there are small variations in colour and pattern between pieces.

Story Behind the Design

The Itajime Silk Collection has been hand-crafted in the workshop of two of India's foremost Master Craftsmen; Jabbar and brother Abdullah Khatri from Bhuj, Gujarat.

Shibori is a 1300 year old tie and dye technique developed in Japan involving the folding and clamping or otherwise securing of fabric prior to dyeing. Itajime is one technique of shibori which uses pieces of wood clamped together around sections of folded fabric to resist the dye in particular shapes. Each 3m section of fabric is individually folded, clamped, tied and dyed; and this repeated several times to get layers of colours. It's a time consuming and exacting technique with bold geometric results.

In Bhuj, clamp dye techniques came into practice around 35 years ago. During that time, clamp dyeing techniques were used on traditional lungis (sarongs) to produce various designs. This was a short-lived trend, however and the technique went out of use after some 5 years. The Khatri brothers re-introduced the process in Bhuj and now create some of the finest itajime, clamp-dyed textiles in India.

Any variations or irregularities are part of the design and inherent to the production process.