Shekhawati Tie Dye Shawl

Shekhawati, a region located in the northeast part of Rajasthan, India is home to the Jat community who produce very distinct and recognizable cotton tie-dyed shawls. In Sanskrit, Bandhana means ‘to tie’ and it is from this word that the English name for the handkerchief ‘bandana’ is derived. The bandhani refers to both the technique and the finished product. This tie-dye technique consists of laying the wet fabric on a bed of nails that has has a design set in it.  The fabric is then pinched into knobs on the nail heads and it is partially or completely tied up with wrapping thread to protect it from the dyeing process.  The resulting patterns range from tiny yet precise dots in round, oval, or square shapes to crude rings or circles. The traditional garb of the rural woman in western India includes the odhani shawl made from the bandhani method.

This Shekhawati Tie Dye shawl has a dark red ground with a large circle in the center with an X shape extending from it. Inside both the main circle and the X are tiny yellow circles with five green diamond shapes in the center. Throughout the piece there are zigzags and semi circles that are in green and yellow and separated by small white circles.