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Day Twelve of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Twelve of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Grand Final Prize £100 Offset Warehouse Voucher! It’s the final day in our Big Winter Giveaway and so we just had to spoil you with an extra special treat! Yes, we are giving away a £100 voucher to spend on our site! Wahoo! What fabrics would you choose? HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post featuring the Voucher!

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Day Eleven Of the Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway!...

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Day Eleven Of the Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway!

Day Eleven Of the Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway!

An Introductory Rag Rug Making Session from Ragged Life! It’s day eleven of our Big Winter Giveaway and we’re offering up the chance to learn a new skill! An introductory lesson in rag rugging for you or a friend by Ragged Life hosted in their studio in Hertfordshire. HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway Ragged Rug Post!

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12,000 Orphans are not just for Christmas...

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12,000 Orphans are not just for Christmas

12,000 Orphans are not just for Christmas

This festive season we are proud to be supporting the incredible charity, StreetInvest, and their work with street children around the world.

StreetInvest are a Twickenham-based charity that helps street children by putting trustworthy adults back into their lives. StreetInvest train Street Workers to help to protect these children. Their job is to show the children living on the streets that…

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Day Ten of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Ten of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Ten of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Gorgeous Organic Cotton Bojest Skirt The Tenth prize in our Big Winter Giveaway is this beautiful Organic Cotton Bojest Original Print Skirt, Size 10. Win it for you or a friend! HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post with the beautiful skirt.

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Day Nine Of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Nine Of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Nine Of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Pretty Collar For Your Cat & Chic Earrings For You + 10% Discount for Everyone! Number nine in our Big Winter Giveaway is a great gift for you and something to pamper your pet; a fetching cat collar and a chic pair of earrings from the amazingly ingenious Hiro + Wolf. HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway Hiro + Wolf post.

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Day Eight of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Eight of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Eight of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Stunning Hand-Dyed Silk Scarf By ACFD Designs The eighth in our Big Winter Giveaway line-up is this beautiful, one-off, luxury silk scarf from ACFD Designs. HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post featuring this beautiful skinny scarf!

Created by Francessca Bea of ACFD Designs, Francessca describes her line as “A Conscious Fashion…

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Day Seven of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Seven of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Seven of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

 Stylish “Offset” Triangle Pendant from Just Trade It’s day seven of our Big Winter Giveaway and the lovely Just Trade are offering their beautiful Offset Triangle Pendant (clearly it was made for an Offset Warehouse competition!) Enter to win it as a little gift for yourself or give it away to someone special. HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big…

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Day Six Of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Six Of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Six Of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Hoity-Toity- Organic Children’s Hand Muff & Voucher The sixth in our 12-day Big Winter Giveaway line-up is this beautiful, organic children’s hand muff from Hoity-Toity Childrenswear & a voucher to spend in their shop. HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post featuring this chic hand warmer!

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Day Five of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Five of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Five of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

An Amazing Set Of Recycled Candles from the Recycled Candle Company! It’s the fifth day of our 12-day Big Winter Giveaway and today you have the chance to win a unique set of candles from The Recycled Candle Company! HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post featuring the candles. The recycled candle company are giving away one…

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Day Four of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Four of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Four of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Choose Your Favourite White T-Shirt Company Organic Cotton T-Shirt! For the fourth prize in our Big Winter Giveaway line-up, The White T-Shirt Company are offering up any, Yes ANY organic T-shirt from their range! HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post featuring their stylish organic t-shirts!

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Day Three of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Three of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Three of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

House of Bilimoria Tee & Zip Pouch For the third day in our Big Winter Giveaway, we have not one but TWO amazing goodies from the sustainable fashion brand House of Bilimoria PLUS a voucher – wowza! HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post featuring this beautiful tee and zip pouch!

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Day Two of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day Two of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day Two of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway. Cosy Wool Lined Suede Moccasins from Romney Marsh Wools!

Cosy Wool-Lined Suede Moccasins from Romney Marsh Wools The second prize in our Big Winter Giveaway line-up is these cosy wool-lined suede slippers from Romney Marsh Wools. In size 10, what a fab gift for someone special or a little something to keep for yourself!

HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebook page to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post featuring these snuggly…

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Day One of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway...

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Day One of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway

Day One of The Big 12-Day Winter Giveaway: British-made Riyka Jumper & Voucher!

British-made Riyka Jumper & 20% Off Voucher! First up in our Big Winter Giveaway and the perfect winter item: the British made, Amy Sweatshirt from Riyka! Keep it for yourself or spoil a friend or family member.

HOW TO WIN IT: Head over to our Facebookpage to enter. Share and comment on the Big Winter Giveaway post featuring this beautiful jumper! The Amy sweatshirt is a beautiful soft,…

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Saving The Planet, One Holey Jumper At A Time...

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How to Price Handmade Items!

How to price your beautiful handmade Items!

Want to start selling your own homemade items? It’s a great way to earn some extra cash (especially around the festive season) and can even be the building blocks to starting your own business! This can be an amazing and scary step. I’ve already covered lots of topics from Are My Crafts Good Enough to Sell? to The Best Places To Sell Your Crafts Online, but there’s one simple question that many…

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Nat’s Intricate Embroidery Bamboo Top! http://ift.tt/1OZazP7 If...

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A Handy Guide to Eco Shopping In Bristol – Europe’s Green...

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Make Your Own Beeswax Fabrics: An Eco-Friendly Alternative to Disposable Wrapping

Make Your Own Beeswax Fabrics: An Eco-Friendly Alternative to Disposable Wrapping

I know what you’re thinking. You think that I’ve completely lost the plot, now I’ve started talking about beeswax fabric. Don’t worry, I’m not about to advise you to throw away all of your favourite clothes and start all again with a beehive!  Beeswax fabric is something you can use to completely transform the way that you use plastic and approach recycling. The planet that we live on has limited…

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In the UK alone we generate 3 million tonnes of plastic waste...

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Turning Food Waste Into Fashion

All You Need To Know About Ikat Weaving

Ikat fabrics have always been popular for their distinct style and unparalleled beauty. If you have ever used one, you will know how unique they are. We just introduced the most stunning Ikat woven fabrics into our shop, all the way from Thailand – I’m sure you’ll love every one of them! Even as we are obsessing over their finesse, I thought I should share with you what makes them special. So, join me and find out all you ever wanted to know about this gorgeous, hand-woven fabric.

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Ikat Weaving

The term “ikat” refers to the dyeing technique used to create the designs on the fabric. It is a resist dyeing process, where bundles of yarn are tightly wrapped together and then dyed as many times as is required to create the desired pattern. This dyeing process is different because the yarns are dyed before being woven into cloth. In most of the other resist-dyeing techniques, like batik for example, it is the final cloth and not the yarn, that’s dyed.

Once the yarns have been suitably dyed and dried, the weaver lines them up on the loom to form the pattern. The design takes form as the yarn is woven into cloth. This is an incredibly complicated process, as the weaver has to precisely dye the threads, and place them correctly so it forms the correct pattern when woven. Just to reiterate how hard this is… in order to replicate a pattern, the weaver would have to dye the thread in exactly the same place as before AND line it up on a loom in EXACTLY the same place AND then they’d have to weave it exactly the same way.

There are three different Ikat weaving techniques. These are warp ikat, weft ikat and double ikat. Let’s take a look at what each of them are.

Types of Ikat Weaving

The differences between warp ikat, weft ikat and double ikat depend on whether it is the warp or weft yarns that are dyed to create the chosen pattern. If you’re not sure what I mean by warp and weft, have a quick read of my previous article, understanding weaving.

Warp Ikat

In warp ikat, the weft yarns are all dyed a solid colour and only the warp yarns are ikat dyed. Here, the pattern is clearly visible when the threads are wound on the loom, and weaving in the weft threads solidifies the colour and completes the fabric formation.

Weft Ikat

In weft ikat, it is the weft threads that are ikat dyed. This type of weaving is more difficult than warp ikat, as the pattern will be formed only as the weaving progresses. This means that the weaver has to constantly centre and readjust the yarns to ensure the pattern is formed correctly.

Double Ikat

The most complicated of the three, double ikat, is where both the warp and weft threads are resist-dyed prior to weaving. This technique requires advanced skill, takes time and hence is the most expensive. The Pochampally Sari and Puttapaka saris are native to India, and feature exquisite double ikat motifs on silk.

How Is Ikat Fabric Made?

These are the various steps involved in creating an Ikat fabric:

1. The desired pattern is first drawn on the warp and weft yarns by hand.

2. The weaver then ties these yarns to match the planned pattern. The threads are then dyed in the specific colours, so that the colours seep into the yarn at the appropriate positions.

3. The ties on the yarn are untied, and the yarns are strung on the loom. In warp and double ikat, the pattern emerges on the loom at this stage.

4. The fabric is then woven together, and the colourful pattern of motifs emerges on it.

For a pictorial description of each of these steps, I suggest you visit the HomeWorkshop website.

History of Ikat

Although Ikat weaving is a complex technique, it is surprising how the technique is believed to have simultaneously and independently developed in different parts of the world. Ikat was brought to Europe at almost the same time by Dutch traders from South East Asia as the Spanish from South America and explorers from the Silk Road.

Ikat fabric has been practiced in India, Indonesia, Japan and other South-East Asian countries for millennia. This form of textile production is also popular in Central and South American countries like Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico. The most coveted double ikat woven fabrics come from Guatemala, India, Japan and Indonesia. It is interesting to note that every Ikat Weaving group has its own distinct patterns, styles and choices of colour.

Endek is an economically successful version of Ikat from Indonesia, as it has been taken from its fabric form and developed into products. Originally considered a court-based sacred fabric in Bali, it is now Indonesia’s most commercialised resist-dyed fabric.

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Ikat In Fashion Today

Beautiful ikats featured in high fashion. Oscar de la Renta fall 2013 collection.

Fashion trends may come and go, but ikat fabrics have always stood the test of time. Many designers and high street brands replicate the look of ikat with printing or a jacquard woven fabric. An original ikat can be easily recognised from the faux printed ones, by either looking up close, or simply turning the fabric over! Since ikats are woven on looms, you can be certain that it is a genuine ikat if the same design is on the inside of the fabric as well. The designer Oscar de la Renta has used the ikat style many time in his design like the one above from his fall 2013 collection.

Ikat continues to be a designer favourite as it finds its way into dresses, shirts, fashion accessories and upholstery. Vinita Passary’s concept clothing label Translate is centred around traditional ikat motifs which she uses to create trendy summer outfits and interior products.

Now that you have learnt all about Ikat fabric, how about giving it a try. Our New Collection Of Ikat Fabrics hand-woven in Thailand with intricate designs like stripes, ebony diamonds and flecks at our online shop.  You are bound to love them all!

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