When I saw the beautful image of this most elegant coat I was inspired to write about one of my favourite fabrics – ikat. What is ikat?
Ikat fabric is made by wrapping either the warp threads (vertical) or the weft threads (horizontal) – or both, before the yarn is put on the loom for weaving. The threads that have been wrapped act as a resist to the dye in the vat and thus produce a pattern on the fabric when the threads are removed after dying. An incredible amount of forethought goes into the process. The images are both bold and diffused at the same time, which make them so delightful. This coat is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Incredible.
This coat has fur on it and I know that might be an issue for some, but it was designed in the ’60′s and at the time it was fashionable to own a fur. Even if you wouldn’t think of wearing this because of the fur – would you not like to try it on – just once – and stand in front of the mirror?
Nowadays there are a lot of “ikat” prints in the world of fashion and interior design. These fabrics are prints – which means that the design has been screen printed onto the fabric using numerous screens to print the various colours. What I like so much about real ikat is that the designs are produced literally into the fabric – unlike a screen printed design, which is only at the surface layer of the fabric.
I love Ikat designs but didn’t realize how a true Ikat was made, thanks for the lesson. There are some fabulous patterns out there. I’m always amazed at all of the patterns that are created with fabric whether for fashion or interior design. Wouldn’t that be a fun job to create patterns!
Hi Kathleen, yes you are right, what a fantastic coat!!!Not only would I try it on, I would then skip down the street with it on. What a beautiful work of art!!!! I love your blog!!