Each colour and each layer of a block-printed design needs its own hand-carved block — usually teak or sheesham wood — and the printer registers them by eye, using tiny pin-dots carved into the block's corners to line up each pass. An outline block (rekh) is usually printed first, then fill blocks (datta or gad) add colour within it. It is slow, exacting work, and it shows in the slightly imperfect, deeply human character of the finished cloth.
How block printing is made
- A design is hand-carved in relief into a block of teak or sheesham wood — one block per colour or layer.
- The outline block (rekh) is dipped in dye or resist and stamped first, working across the cloth.
- Fill blocks (datta/gad) are then printed to add colour within the outline, registered by eye using pin-dots at the block's corners.
- Where a resist paste is used instead of dye — as in dabu — the cloth is then dyed, and the resist keeps colour from reaching the printed areas.
- The cloth is washed and fixed, revealing the finished pattern.
The main block-printing traditions of India
- Bagru (Rajasthan): earthy, natural-dye printing on off-white or beige grounds, including dabu mud-resist work and the black-and-yellow syahi-begar style.
- Sanganeri (Rajasthan): fine, delicate floral buti motifs, historically on a white ground, in crisp reds and blacks.
- Ajrakh (Kutch, Gujarat, and Sindh): complex multi-stage resist-and-mordant printing in deep indigo and madder red, built up over many rounds of printing, washing and dyeing.
Dabu is a resist style of block printing — a mud paste is stamped on to keep dye out rather than to add colour directly — and it belongs to the Bagru tradition above.
Why it's sustainable
- Natural dyes: traditionally plant and mineral dyes rather than synthetic colour.
- Hand-done: a low-energy process that supports printing clusters in Rajasthan and Kutch directly.
- Natural cloth: printed on cotton and other natural, biodegradable fibres.
- Made to last: hand-block-printed cloth is durable and only improves with wear and wash.
How we use block print
Block-printed cloth, including dabu, is one of the hand-printed textiles you can choose for a made-to-order piece at the YHP atelier — cut and stitched to your measure.