The Textile
Studio.
There’s a version of Indian textiles that most travellers never see — not because it’s hidden, but because it isn’t advertised. We know where to find it.
Travelling through India with textiles as the starting point.
Someone might be curious about block printing, natural dyeing, Bandhani, Leheriya, embroidery, mirror work, beadwork, appliqué, hand weaving, pashmina, Kani or Sozni. They might already know exactly what they want to see, or just want to start looking.
There’s no fixed route. The journey develops around whatever catches their interest — a technique, a place, a region, a single piece of cloth.
Bagru, Jaipur and Sanganer.
In Bagru, cloth is still block printed using wooden blocks carved by hand, some of them decades old. The dyes are mixed on site, and the printing is done the way it’s always been done here — one block, one colour, one press at a time.
A short distance away in Sanganer, printed fabric is washed and then dried outdoors, stretched across long bamboo frames that fill entire courtyards. It’s a practical step in the process, and also one of the more striking things to see in the town.
Jaipur itself is where a lot of this comes together — embroidery, mirror work, beadwork, appliqué and other hand embellishment, alongside the tie-dye traditions of Bandhani and Leheriya. Different neighbourhoods specialise in different techniques, often within walking distance of each other.
Kutch.
In Kutch, embroidery changes from community to community. Each group works with its own stitches, motifs and use of mirror work and beadwork — recognisable once you know what to look for, easy to miss if you don’t.
Bandhani has deep roots here too, alongside appliqué and hand weaving. It’s a small region with an unusually wide range of textile traditions, most of them still practised the way they were a generation ago.
Pashmina, Kani and Sozni.
The word ‘cashmere’ comes from Kashmir — a simplified version of the name, picked up by English speakers and now used more often than the place it came from.
In Kashmir, the wool itself is called pashmina. Kani shawls are woven thread by thread, using small wooden spools instead of a shuttle — slow, exact work that can take months for a single piece. Sozni is needle embroidery worked so finely it can be mistaken, at a glance, for part of the weave itself.