Bandhani

Bandhani is the fine Indian tie-resist, in which a worker plucks up tiny points of cloth and binds each with thread before dyeing, so that thousands of minute knots stay undyed and bloom as small light dots once the bindings are cut. Centered in Gujarat and Rajasthan and among the oldest tie-dye traditions, evidence of it reaches back to the dawn of Indian dyeing, it patterns the bright saris, turbans, and odhani veils of western India, the density and arrangement of the dots carrying regional and ceremonial meaning. The related leheriya twists the cloth into diagonal waves by the same resist principle.

Named for

From the Sanskrit bandh, to tie or bind, for the countless tied knots that make the pattern.

Also known as

bandhej

Common questions

What is Bandhani made of?: Bandhani is the fine Indian tie-resist, in which a worker plucks up tiny points of cloth and binds each with thread before dyeing, so that thousands of minute knots stay undyed and bloom as small light dots once the bindings are cut. It is traditionally made of cotton or silk.
What is Bandhani named after?: From the Sanskrit bandh, to tie or bind, for the countless tied knots that make the pattern.