Indian Hand Block Printing

At Sapling Textiles, we source our hand block printed textiles from Rajasthan in northern India.

The process of block printing holds a place of pride in India. The recorded block printing tradition in Jaipur dates from the late 1700’s but is thought to have been used in India since the 12th century. Hand block printing is a craft that has been perfected and passed down over many generations.

Printing blocks are hand carved from teak wood. A fine block takes 2 days to carve and wears out after about 800 metres of printing. The printer stamps the cloth approximately 1000 times to complete only 3 metres in 5 colours.

Between 1 and 30 separate blocks may be used to complete a garment or quilt design. The dyes are hand mixed and are of vegetable, mineral and chemical derivation.

Sapling Textiles are proud to offer beautiful hand block printed fabrics that are the epitome of slow, careful and considered production values.

We hope you love our range as much as we enjoyed sourcing it for you.