Ikat Weaving

The weaving of ikat, like ikat dyeing, is also the work of a team. One specialized worker threads the warps through the cotton looms of the harness. A different master sets the warps into the reed. Another ( the ishtibar )watches the weaver at work and makes adjustments to keep the warps in line. An ishtibar is assigned to supervise four looms of plain ikat or a single room of ikat velvet. In contrast to the elaborate warp preparation, the weaving process is relatively simple. A two-to-four harness wooden loom will be fixed to a raised mud platform. The weaver passes a horn shuttle loaded with a pink silk or white cotton weft between the warps crosses and then fattens the weft with a reed made of rushes. When cotton wefted plain weaves are completed and removed from the loom, glaziers often produced a heavy surface sheen by beating the folded silk with paddles to raise a shiny, gummy substance from the silk filaments. An entire neighborhood of these craftsmen beat and water silks of every kind fabric.