The history of handloom or hand woven fabric dates back to the epic ages. Handloom weaving is a creative and innovative act that is essential to the evolution of cloth. Hand woven fabric is the product of tradition and the inspiration of the cultural ethos of the weavers.From the times immemorial, various styles, patterns, fabrics and designs of handloom have been prevalent in every region of the world.

Hand block printing is a centuries old Indian art form that utilizes a hand carved teak wood block that is dipped in dye and stamped by hand onto cotton or silk.

The design for the block is usually a traditional Indian motif. The motif is traced onto a block by a master craftsman who then chips away at the block to create a stamp.

The term ‘ikat’ stems from the Malay Indonesian expression mangikat meaning to bind, knot or wind around. Ikat, known as tie and dye textile design is known around the world. Kat has been used since centuries in India in Orissa, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Each state has its own style of designs most popular being the geometrical patterns in heavy waves. In principle, ikat or resist dyeing involves the sequence of tying and dyeing sections of bundles of yarn to a predetermined colour scheme prior to weaving.

The term “Ajrak”, may be derived from “Azrak”, meaning blue in Arabic, as blue happens to be the one of the principal colours in Ajrak printing. But the popular story among artisans is that the name is derived from the phrase “aajrakh”, meaning “keep it for today”. Ajrakh, as the particular print is called, is the result of a long and laborious process. One of the main differences between Ajrakh and the normal block printing found elsewhere is the ‘resist’ technique.