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Bandhani is the dotted tie-dye you see on dupattas, sarees and turbans across Gujarat and Rajasthan. The name comes from bandhna, which means "to tie". In Rajasthan the same cloth is usually called bandhej.
Bandhani meaning
Every dot on a bandhani is one knot. A worker pinches a tiny bit of cloth, ties it tightly with thread, and does this hundreds or thousands of times. When the cloth is dyed, the tied spots stay undyed and become the dots.
Where bandhani is made
- Kutch, in Gujarat: Bhuj, Mandvi and the villages around them. This is where the finest bandhani is made, by Khatri families who have dyed cloth for centuries.
- Jamnagar, in Gujarat: on the Saurashtra coast. People there say the local water makes its reds and maroons brighter than anywhere else.
- Rajasthan: Jaipur, Sikar, Jodhpur and Udaipur.
How bandhani is made
1. The design is marked on the cloth with a stamp that washes away. 2. A worker, almost always a woman, lifts a pinch of cloth with a fingernail or a small pointed tool and ties it tightly with thread. A simple dupatta has a few hundred knots. A fine saree can have several thousand and take weeks. 3. The cloth goes into the lightest dye first. The knots keep the colour out. 4. For a second colour, more knots are added and the cloth goes into a darker dye. This repeats for each colour.
The cloth is sold with the knots still in, which is why a new bandhani dupatta arrives crumpled. When you pull it open, the threads break and the pattern appears. This also proves it was tied by hand and not printed.
Bandhani patterns to know
- Ek dali: single dots spread evenly.
- Chandrakala and bavan bagh: dots arranged in moon and garden shapes.
- Shikari: hunting scenes, with animals and riders made of dots.
- Gharchola: the Gujarati wedding saree, red bandhani with a grid of gold zari checks.
Real vs printed bandhani
Printed bandhani is cheaper. You can spot it because it is too perfect: every dot is the same size and evenly spaced, and the cloth is flat. Hand-tied dots are slightly different sizes, each has a tiny raised point in the centre, and the cloth has that crinkled look.
Bandhani is made on cotton, georgette, chiffon and gaji silk. Dry-clean it the first few times, because the dye can run.
Questions people ask
What is bandhani?
A tie-dye craft from Gujarat and Rajasthan. Thousands of tiny points of cloth are tied with thread by hand, and then the cloth is dyed. Each tie stops the dye and leaves a small dot. In Rajasthan it is called bandhej.
How do I know if bandhani is real or printed?
Real bandhani has a tiny raised point in the middle of each dot, where the cloth was pinched. The dots are slightly different sizes, and new pieces come crumpled with the knots still in. Printed bandhani is flat, with perfectly identical dots.
Where is the best bandhani made?
Kutch (Bhuj and Mandvi) for the finest work and Jamnagar for the brightest reds, both in Gujarat. In Rajasthan: Jaipur, Sikar and Jodhpur.
Does bandhani colour run?
It can in the first few washes. Dry-clean it the first two or three times, then hand-wash it in cold water, on its own.
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