Some of the prints in our collection are not made by machine. They are stamped onto cotton by hand, one block at a time, in workshops in Jaipur, in the Indian state of Rajasthan, where the craft has been practiced for centuries. It is slow, physical work, and it explains why two pieces from the same design are never quite identical.
What is hand block printing?
Hand block printing is a textile technique in which a pattern is carved in relief into a wooden block, the raised surface is loaded with dye or pigment, and the block is pressed onto the fabric by hand, repeating across the length of cloth.
Each color in a design needs its own block. A print with four colors means four separate carved blocks, each passed over the entire fabric in sequence, each aligned by eye against the last. There is no screen, no roller and no digital file: the pattern exists as wood, and the register depends on the printer's hand.
How is a hand block printed fabric made, step by step?
In broad terms, the cloth is prepared, the blocks are carved, the color is mixed, the fabric is printed by hand in repeat, and the finished piece is fixed, washed and dried. Each stage is done by a different specialist.
How are the wooden blocks carved?
A carver transfers the design onto a block of dense hardwood and cuts away everything that should not print, leaving the motif in relief. Fine lines and small negative spaces are the hardest part, and a complex design can occupy a carver for days. Small holes are drilled through the block so trapped air escapes and the block seats evenly on the cloth.
How is the fabric prepared?
Raw cotton comes with natural waxes and mill finishes that repel color. It is washed and prepared so the fiber can absorb dye evenly, then stretched flat and pinned onto long padded tables. The padding matters: it gives the block something to press into, so the impression is clean rather than skidding across a hard surface.
How is the printing itself done?
The printer dips the block into a shallow tray of color, positions it on the fabric, and strikes it with the heel of the hand to transfer the pigment. Then they lift, move along, and place the block again, using tiny registration marks carved into the corners to line up each impression with the previous one. A single length of fabric can take thousands of individual strikes. Once the first color is complete and dry, the process starts again with the block for the second color, then the third.
What happens after printing?
The printed cloth is dried, usually in the open air, and the color is fixed so it will survive washing. It is then washed to remove surplus dye and dried again before being cut and sewn. This is why a handmade piece feels lived-in from the beginning: it has already been through water several times.
Why does every hand block printed piece look slightly different?
Because every element of the process is manual. The pressure of the hand, the amount of color on the block, the ambient temperature and humidity, and the exact alignment of each impression all vary within a single day of work, let alone between batches.
The practical consequences are worth naming plainly:
- Tones vary between batches. Dye is mixed by hand in lots, and two lots of the same color are close relatives rather than twins.
- The repeat is never mechanical. Where two impressions meet you may find a hairline overlap or a faint gap.
- Density shifts across a length. A block carrying slightly more color prints deeper, and the block re-inks between strikes.
- Placement differs garment to garment. Cutting a pattern from a hand printed length means no two shirts carry the motif in exactly the same position.
Are small irregularities a defect or a sign of authenticity?
They are the signature of the technique. A slight variation in tone or a small imperfection in the pattern is not a fault to be corrected; it is the evidence that a person, not a machine, put the color on the cloth.
It is worth saying plainly, because mass production has trained us to read perfect uniformity as quality. In hand block printing the opposite is true: absolute regularity would mean a screen or a roller had been used. The value lies in a printer aligning each impression by eye, on that specific length of cotton.
Which of our pieces are hand block printed?
Part of the collection, not all of it. Several of our 100% cotton pajama sets carry prints stamped by hand with wooden blocks by artisans in Jaipur, and the product page for each piece states when that is the case. The rest of the range uses prints originally drawn and painted by Mónica Watanabe and reproduced by other means, on the same 100% cotton base.
If you want to see which designs are made this way, the individual descriptions in the pajamas collection and in the latest collection specify the technique for each piece.
How should you care for hand block printed cotton?
Wash it cold, separately for the first few cycles, never leave it soaking, and dry it out of direct sunlight. Hand printed and hand dyed fabric can release a little surplus dye early in its life, and sun is the fastest way to lighten a natural print.
Beyond that, treat it like any good cotton: gentle cycle, mild detergent, low spin, air dry in the shade, and iron on the reverse if you want a crisp finish. Done consistently, this keeps the depth of the color for years.
Frequently asked questions
Is hand block printing the same as screen printing?
No. Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh stencil, usually with a mechanized squeegee. Hand block printing presses a carved wooden block onto the cloth by hand, one impression at a time.
Why do two garments in the same print look slightly different?
Because the dye is mixed in hand-prepared lots and the fabric is printed by hand. Tone and placement vary between batches and between individual garments cut from the same length.
Does hand block printed fabric fade?
All color fades with time, light and washing. Washing cold, drying in the shade and avoiding bleach keeps a hand printed cotton looking deep for far longer.
Where does the cotton come from?
Our cotton comes from India, which is also where the hand block printing workshops we work with are based, in Jaipur.