Black & Gold Silk Ikat Fabric – Feathered Leopard Motifs

Black and gold, and from across the room it reads as leopard: golden-cream spots and dashes scattered on a black ground, every mark feathered at the edge where the tie-dyed warp shifted on the loom. Up close it is unmistakably ikat. It is the dressiest cloth in the section and the one for evening. Sixty per cent silk gives the gold its glow; forty per cent cotton keeps it sewable. 40 cm wide.

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)
• Main colours: black ground; golden cream
• Design / motif: feathered spots and dashes on black, animal-print effect
• 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 jacket or a slip dress, a scarf, cushion fronts on camel or white, a lampshade. One piece is enough in a room. Pairs with the black-and-white ovals (IF0303). 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 Uzbekiston Pochtasi tracked airmail: USA 9–18 working days, Europe and the UK 8–16, elsewhere 10–20.