Hand block printing is a textile craft in which a pattern, carved into a wooden block, is inked and pressed onto cloth by hand — one impression at a time, repeat by repeat, across the full width of the fabric. It is among the oldest ways of patterning cloth, and it is how every length we make begins.
A craft with deep roots in Rajasthan
Block printing has been practised on the Indian subcontinent for centuries. In Rajasthan it centres on two villages near Jaipur — Sanganer, known for fine, delicate floral motifs on pale grounds, and Bagru, known for earthy, mud-resist (dabu) prints and natural dyes. Whole families have carried the knowledge of carving, dyeing and printing across generations. When you buy hand block print, you are buying into that living tradition, not a machine setting.
It starts with the block
A chhipa (printer) works from blocks cut by a separate artisan, the nakkash (carver). Each motif is chiselled by hand into a seasoned hardwood block — usually teak or sheesham — and a single design needs one block per colour, plus an outline block. Intricate repeats can take days to carve. The block is the soul of the print: a good one can be used for years.
How the cloth is printed
The cotton is washed, sometimes treated, and stretched flat along a long padded table. The printer charges the block on a dye tray, then stamps it down with a firm press of the heel of the hand, aligning each impression to the last by eye using small register marks. A multi-colour design is built up in passes — outline first, then each colour block in turn. It is slow, rhythmic, exacting work, closer to printmaking than to manufacturing.
Dyes & resists
Traditional methods include dabu (a mud-and-resist paste that blocks dye to create negative patterns) and natural dyes such as indigo. We print our cloth with azo-free, water-based pigment dyes on 100% cotton — soft, breathable and kind to skin — with organic and GOTS-certified cotton available on request.
Why no two pieces are identical
Because every impression is placed by a person, you will see gentle variation in colour density, in the slight overlap where one repeat meets the next, and in the odd block that lands a hair off register. These are not flaws. They are the fingerprint of genuine hand block printing — proof a human made it.
See it for yourself
Explore the craft as fabric by the yard, or worn as sarongs and kaftans. Wondering how it differs from a printed lookalike? Read block print vs screen print.