Bandhani Sarees

Bandhani and bandhej sarees are typical of the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Bandhani sarees created by dyeing the cloth in such a manner that the tied 'spots' produce elaborate patterns over the fabric. Bandhani sarees have won lot of appreciation in the fashion market.

Fabric
Simple bandhani sarees are basically in cottons and are ideal for the Indian summers. There are also silk or chiffon bandhani sarees with sequins or zari work.

The Process
Bandhani is a handwork, which involves tying and dying of cloth. To create the Bandhani designs, the Bandhej process involves tightly tying a string or "dori" around certain areas of the fabric and then dipping it in to a dye. After a short while, the fabric is taken out of the dye and the string is removed. On opening the fabric, you will see that the areas covered by the string have retained their original color while the rest of the fabric has been dyed.

Bandhani work, after the processing is over, results into a variety of symbols including, dots, squares, waves and strips. The tying of cloth with thread and then dying it is the simplest and perhaps the oldest form of creating patterns on a plain piece of cloth.

Colours and Design
The dominant colors in Bandhani sarees are bright like yellow, red, green and pink. Maroon is also popular. But with changing times, as Bandhani has become a part of fashion, various pastel colors and shades are being used. Single colour sarees with white spots are also common. There are bandhani sarees with contrast colours, with zori borders. The various tye and dye designs on bandhani sarees are Bandhej, Lehriya, Batik, Mothra, Ekdali, Shikari, Cheent.