Black, Grey & Blue Silk Ikat Fabric – Paisley Palmettes on White

Paisley-shaped palmettes in black, grey and slate blue, with tan at their hearts, drawn large across a white ground; the black is the strongest note and gives the cloth its graphic edge, the tan warms it. Held to the light the silk warp shows as a sheen on the white. Sixty per cent silk, forty cotton, 40 cm wide, 225 cm repeat.

Product details

• Product type: handwoven ikat fabric, sold by the metre
• Origin: Margilan, Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan
• Weaving technique: warp ikat — the threads are tie-dyed before weaving; handloom, no power looms
• Composition: 60% silk, 40% cotton
• Width: 40 cm (16 in)
• Pattern repeat: about 225 cm
• Main colours: white ground; black; grey; tan; blue
• Design / motif: paisley-shaped palmettes with feathered edges
• Sold by: the metre — one unit is 1 m (1.09 yd), cut in one continuous length from 1 m up
• Condition: new, uncut from the bolt
• Care: hand wash at 30 °C with a mild detergent, no wringing, dry in the shade, iron on the reverse; or dry-clean

Suitable uses

A tailored jacket or waistcoat, a straight dress, cushion fronts in a grey room, a runner. Works with the black-and-white zigzag (IF0637) as a pair. More cloths of this kind are under Silk Ikats.

Handmade note

Handwoven on a wooden loom, so expect what the loom leaves: motif edges that feather where the warp shifted, a hairline of colour variation along the length, and a selvedge that is not perfectly straight. The pattern is dyed into the thread, not printed on it, and shows on both faces — the test described in our handwoven versus printed ikat guide. Colours differ slightly between dyelots, so order the full length you need at once.

Cut to order and dispatched from Bukhara within 24 hours by Uzbekiston Pochtasi tracked airmail: USA 9–18 working days, Europe and the UK 8–16, elsewhere 10–20.