Craft

Jamdani

‘Ira Jamdani’ brings a contemporary twist to the craft. The beauty of Jamdani lies in it’s motifs which appear to be floating on the body of the cotton. Transparency of the fabric’s body, the density of the threads making up the motifs and their proportional placement are all the contribution factors.

The suspended illusion of the Jamdani motifs that appear to float over the fabric is a testament of devotion to this artistry. The creation of Jamdani begins in the loom, with a supplementary weft that glides over the standard warp drafting the intricate motifs as it moves along. At Ira we practice the authentic technique of hand-picked warp for Jamdani that requires both precision and attention to detail. The dynamic nature of Jamdani weave makes it one of the most laborious and prized textiles. Depending on the intricacy of the design, each piece from dyeing to finishing can take anywhere between 30-90 days.

All our processes from dyeing to reeling, warping and weaving are hand-done.

Kantha

‘Ira Kantha’ is contemporary as it celebrates the raw and indigenous simplicity of running stitch. Stitching by hand in our fast-paced digitised lives is a labour of love. The hours spent painstakingly drawing the motifs by hand, working around them and filling them with threads brings a whole different dimension to the finished cloth. The repetitive movements employed in working a basic running stitch is meditative. We love it’s ethos of repurposing, mending and story telling. Despite it’s simplicity Kantha is an incredibly versatile stitch as it can be used to create motifs, textures and quilt fabric layers together. Depending on the intricacy of the design, each piece can take anywhere between 30-60 days to do the embroidery.