Fuchsia, White & Black Silk Ikat Fabric – Tumor Amulet

Tumor is the Uzbek word for the amulet — the triangular charm sewn to a child’s clothes — and the motif here is that shape enlarged: white forms edged in black and grey sit on a saturated fuchsia ground, their tips feathering into the pink. It is a bold, happy cloth and the 50 cm width lets a single motif fill a cushion front. Sixty per cent silk, forty cotton.

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: 50 cm (20 in)
• Main colours: fuchsia pink ground; white; black; grey
• Design / motif: large amulet (tumor) motifs on pink
• 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

An evening kaftan or a party dress, a lined jacket, cushion fronts against grey or navy, a bolster. Strong enough to be the only pattern in a room. 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. Colours differ slightly between dyelots, so order the full length you need at once. Washing and pressing are covered in how to wash ikat fabric.

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