DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO SEE:

Woven Symbols, Global Patterns

A Tenuous Balance: Sculptural Textiles

Inspired By Our Strange Society

The Art of Ajrakh

Inspired Displacement: Translating Travel into Textiles

The Marlinespike: Roped Into Art

Kantha Quilts of Bengal

Marvels & Wonders: Geometric Design in Cairo During the Mamluk Sultanate

The Craft of Travel - SOLD OUT

Lectures Start September 6th.

Tickets purchased online after August 20th will be held at the door.

KALAMKARI

Maiwa’s kalamkari bedding is block printed by hand on 100% organic cotton using natural dyes. Floral motifs and geometric embellishments invoke the Persian influence found in traditional kalamkari. The bedding is a sumptuous combination of line and colour.

BAGH

Bagh block printed bedding adds character and depth to any room. The patterning is a beautiful balance of figure and ground that allows motif and colour to sing together. Printed on 100% organic cotton using natural dyes and traditional techniques.

What is Kalamkari?

The mordant-dye technique resulted in brilliant, fast colours that could withstand washing. These were exported from the port of Marsulipatnam (on the east coast of India) where, between 1600 and 1800 they formed the basis for one of the largest international trades in textiles ever known. To increase production, carved wooden blocks replaced pens. In the European markets both printed and painted cottons became known as “Chintz." Today the term refers to almost any textile with floral patterning, but at the time "chintz" denoted a cotton cloth, usually with a white ground, printed or painted with natural dyes.
The European market was not the first, however, the port of Marsulipatnam previously exported kalamkaris to the markets of Safavid Persia. The Persian influence has remained in the floral borders, motifs, and geometric design of the patterning.
Today Marsilaputnam is still a centre of kalamkari block print production. The original natural dye knowledge is still applied and the results are just as beautiful as they were centuries ago. First the cloth is bleached by "dunging" — a treatment with buffalo or goat dung after which the cloth is dried in the sun for a few days. The cloth is mordanted with myrobalan, a tannin bearing nut which grows nearby. Black outlines are printed with an iron solution and areas that will be red are printed with an alum mordant. The various colours are achieved through printing resists, mordants, and then immersion dyeing with different dyes. When using wooden blocks to print, gum is mixed with whatever substance is to be delivered onto the cloth.
Maiwa is dedicated to keeping the art of kalamkari alive. We carry kalamkari bedding, pillows, cushion covers, and we use kalamkari in our clothing designs.

What are Bagh Block Prints?

The graphic impact of a Bagh block print is due to the dramatic use of of red and black; a style which originates with the Bhil and Bhilala cultures residing in Madhya Pradesh, India. The printers of Bagh are Khatris who migrated south from Rajasthan during the Mughal incursions. They remained to take advantage of the high copper content of the Baghini river. Today, a few small studios still follow a traditional block printing process.
Light and medium weight cotton cloth is scoured and prepared with a complex mixture containing tannin. The cloth is printed with mordants, but as the mordants themselves give no colour during application, a bright pink dye is added - traditionally from the dhawda (flame of the forest) flower. This dye permits the artisans to check registration of the patterns and align overprints. Areas which appear pink during this initial stage will appear deep red when the cloth is finished.
Traditional dye methods include the fermentation of iron-water to give a black colour. Horseshoes and other scrap iron is added to a jaggery-water mixture in a process which can last between fifteen and thirty-five days. The distinctive blocks are carved from hardwood and can print thousands of impressions before needing to be recut.
Washing during the various stages of the printing process is still done by the riverside. Lengths of unfinished cloth with the distinctive pink colour are evidence of traditional artisans at work.
Maiwa works with Bagh craftspeople using traditional block printing techniques. The bold patterns are a proud and dramatic statement of the cultural heritage of this area.

DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO SEE:

Woven Symbols, Global Patterns

A Tenuous Balance: Sculptural Textiles

Inspired By Our Strange Society

The Art of Ajrakh

Inspired Displacement: Translating Travel into Textiles

The Marlinespike: Roped Into Art

Kantha Quilts of Bengal

Marvels & Wonders: Geometric Design in Cairo During the Mamluk Sultanate

The Craft of Travel - SOLD OUT

Lectures Start September 6th.

Tickets purchased online after August 20th will be held at the door.

ARBOR
Wyoming-sourced breed-specific wool
Spun and dyed in Maine
Woolen-spun 2-ply | 145 yards | 50g hank

Woolen-spun 2-ply | 140 yards | 50g hank

LOFT
Wyoming-sourced breed-specific wool
Spun in New Hampshire
Woolen-spun 2-ply | 275 yards | 50g hank

Fingering-weight Loft channels Targhee-Columbia wool’s airy bounce into feather-light lace, accessories, and garments. Like Shelter, Loft is a woolen-spun 2-ply yarn with delicate twist, specially designed for unique lightness of hand. It’s not a sock yarn, so treat it a little more gently when it’s on the winder and the needles. Once your garment is blocked, the stitches will cohere in a beautifully even and sturdy fabric. Lace garments should open up to reveal stitch motifs with relatively mild blocking. Loft has great flexibility of gauge; it can be knit on 2mm (US 0) needles for a dense and durable fabric or on 4mm (US 6) needles for ethereal open work. Two strands of Loft held together can substitute for Shelter in patterns where you’d like greater stitch definition or a marled fabric of two colours.

QUARRY
Wyoming-sourced breed-specific wool
Spun in New Hampshire
Woolen-spun 3-ply | 200 yards | 100g hank

Quarry is a chunky brother to Shelter and Loft inspired by roving-style “unspun” yarns, offered in pillowy 100-gram skeins. This yarn begins with three strands of the same lofty, woolen-spun Targhee-Columbia fleece, but rather than twisting the individual plies, they are nestled together and gently spun as a trio. The result is a plump yarn that looks like a single ply and has greater tensile strength and stitch definition than a true unspun yarn. Quarry has a soft and rustic hand. The yarn’s one-directional twist may cause it to twirl between the needles and the ball while you’re knitting, but the fabric will be well balanced with no biasing. Quarry knits will bloom to become cohesive and supple after a wet blocking. You shouldn’t notice any change in gauge. This yarn loves to cable and beautifully renders all kinds of textural stitch work. Despite its soft structure, it can be worked at looser gauges without loss of integrity to the fabric. It’s ideal for sweaters, coats, blankets, and cozy accessories.