Ikat

Ikat is a resist-dyeing technique applied to the yarn or thread itself before weaving, rather than to finished cloth: bundles of yarn are tightly bound in a specific pattern with a resistant material at the points meant to remain undyed, dyed, and the bindings then repositioned and the process repeated for each additional color, before the dyed and patterned yarn is finally woven into cloth, at which point the design that emerges depends on the weaver's skill in aligning the pre-dyed pattern accurately. Because the alignment is never perfect, ikat cloth characteristically shows a slightly blurred, feathered edge to its patterns, an effect distinct from the crisp geometric edges of patterns woven from already-solid-colored thread. The technique developed independently in numerous textile traditions across the world, including Indonesia, where it is one source of the technique's name, ikat being a Malay word for to tie or to bind, as well as in India, Uzbekistan and other parts of Central Asia, Japan, and among the indigenous weaving traditions of the Americas.