Joy Drop: Indigo

Handker Joy Drop Indigo banner featuring ornate Indian textile patterns Rajasthan, India is renowned for artisan textile production. From hand-carved block printing at the highest level, to mud-resist indigo vats for which the process hasn’t changed in hundreds of years, the heritage of this region will blow your mind.

I’ve now traveled to Jaipur, Rajasthan, twice to experience their artisan textile trade, and I’m finally able to bring this treasured tradition back to all of you.

Jaipur courtyard with yellow walls, scalloped arches, white columns, and potted plants

On one of my trips to Jaipur, I took a block printing workshop. This scarf is my own hand- drawn design translated by Rajasthani artisans into wood blocks and printed then dipped in indigo dye.

Woman holds a hand-carved block in a Jaipur dabu textile workshop, surrounded by patterned fabrics

This process is called dabu resist. Dabu printing is a traditional, mud-resist hand-block
printing technique of Rajasthan, India. A mud paste is applied to fabric section by section with a hand-carved wooden block. The hand carving is just unbelievable.

Below are just a few of the thousands of hand-carved blocks they have used over the years to create garments and home textiles.

Two women examine hand-carved wooden textile printing blocks displayed on workshop walls in Jaipur, India First, the dabu mud is made using all manner of natural ingredients--including "insect-eaten wheat flour" which I think means...poop? The mud is hand (foot) made in a large concrete pit.

Man mixes dabu mud with his feet in a concrete pit during traditional Rajasthani textile dyeing

Then comes the fun part: hand-stamping the design. After the mud resist paste is stamped on, you sprinkle it with sawdust which soaks up extra moisture and give extra resist to the indigo ink.

Dabu mud-resist printing on white fabric with a carved wooden block beside a bowl of mud

Woman hand-stamps a fabric design with a carved wooden block in a Rajasthani textile workshop Close-up of a white scarf showcasing dabu mud-resist stripes covered in sawdust on a dark surface

After the mud-stamped design has dried, the fabric is dipped in a vat of indigo dye. For multiple shades of blue, additional rounds of stamping are applied, and subsequently dipped back into the dye vat.

Close-up of an indigo-dyed scarf showcasing dabu resist stripes and border patterns on sunlit ground Artisans dye patterned fabric in an indigo vat in Jaipur, Rajasthan

The scarves are dried in the hot Rajasthani sun before being rinsed thoroughly.

Indigo-dyed fabrics drying in the sun outside a textile workshop in Jaipur

I came home and have been thinking about the magic of those indigo dye vats combined with the blocks and the mud, and just couldn't keep it out of my mind. It took me about a year to come up with the designs that would work best in block form.

Woman standing beside a blue indigo scarf displayed in a Jaipur courtyard

You might say I have a soft spot for generational craft tradition, especially with fabric. I come from a long line of quilters, people who made their own cloths, and women who simply love to have a small needlework project for cold winter nights in the Midwest.

The Indigo Joy Drop is a marriage of my family's traditions with those from the artisans in Jaipur. It's what I love best about travel: meeting people who have lived completely different lives than me, but celebrating the thing we have in common. Textile work is such a connector for women around the world.

Woman holds an indigo patterned textile beside dyeing equipment in Jaipur

These designs are classic Handker, from my sketchbooks, and inspired by the world through my eyes. The fabric used is super fine and soft cotton, and the scarves are LARGE at 40" x 70". Much more like a traditional scarf/wrap. You can wear it like a sarong, or as a head covering while you duck into a sacred temple on your travels. Or pair it with our brass rope slide for a quick look.

Close-up of an indigo block-printed cotton scarf showcasing a white floral pattern and draped fabric Close-up front view of indigo block-printed cotton scarf showcasing geometric white-on-blue pattern and soft drape against a muted green background Front view of indigo cotton scarf showcasing white-on-blue block-printed pattern draped on model against muted green background Front view of an indigo block-printed cotton scarf showcasing a white dot pattern and scalloped border held by a model

Take a look at the whole Indigo Joy Drop collection here.

Joy Drop: Indigo

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