Tie dye Handmade Shawlss give earthy and rustic look that many women are very fond of. These shawls go very well with jeans trousers and make great casual dress. The wool fabric is of a coarse kind since they pick up colors during tie dye process better than other fabric. Some of these shawls also have thread and mirror embroidery. While women seem to love mirror work because they dazzle, they are meant to drive off evil according to Kutch tribe.
The Western state of Gujarat is the biggest centre where the tie-dye technique is extensively used by local craftsmen. The major textile crafts of the settled area of Kutch in Gujarat are Bandhani (tie and dye) and block printing. Coming from the Hindi word bandhan meaning to tie, this technique has a self explanatory name. Bandhani or Bandhej is the name of the tie and dye technique used commonly in the region. The fabric is tied at various places with the help of a thread, in a way that it makes some pattern. After the tying is done, the fabric is dipped in the desired color. After it is completely dried, the ties are opened and the amazing designs come to reality.
The threads prevent the tied area from absorbing the color and hence the desired pattern is realized. This also includes the resist dyed and printed ajrakh. It is a technique by which the very traditional looking colorful scarves and stoles are created. They have very special significance in marriages. The village weavers produced for the local community while the master craftsmen created specially for the royalty and the wealthy. In addition to shawls, many other apparel including salwar kurtas, lehenga cholis, kurtis etc are also made in tie and dye.