They have been attracting serious attention lately. In 2009, there are at least two exhibitions of the fabrics in the US.

The “Island Magic: Court and Tribal Textiles from Indonesia” were held from November 7, 2008 to January 10, 2009 at the Minasian Rug Company, Evanston, Illinois.

Another one, entitled Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles: Selections from the Mary Hunt Kahlenberg Collection, has been held since September 18, 2008 up to September 6, 2009 at Ahmanson Building, Los Angeles, organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), curated by Sharon Takeda, costume and textiles, and Mary Kahlenberg, guest curator.

LACMA is is the largest art museum in the western United States.

Picture, source: SusiJohnston.com

We have mentioned a bit on how to make your dining table look marvelous here. Let’s move on to other parts of your house.

Anywhere you wish to put it, ikat fabric, you have to make sure that it has the same tone with your whole theme of room. Don’t push an elegantly ethnical ikat in your cheerfully colorful kids’ room. You know what, some ikat does look bright, too. Just get those for your kids’ room.

In the living room, get an ikat with smaller size, put it in a frame and hang it on the wall. You can even buy several sheets either with the same motifs or color and make them a series on your wall. That makes a definitely stylish decor.

Take a look at the picture of table runner on the right side of this post. Actually, you can also use it as you sofa cover. It looks beautiful on your red or white sofa.

It is easy to create an alegant and stylish room when you use ikat. Especially with Indonesian Ikat.

They are mostly of 140 cm wide and 260 long. So, if you happen to have a long dining table, one of those ikat fabrics might look terrific on it.

They have no napkin, yet it gives you the liberty to be more creative. Let’s say, you choose the one with red, yellow and black colors. Then, you can have napkins with one of those colors. You can even have those three colors and use them by turns.

These tablecloths are combinations of light and dark colors. The dark color would be perfect should you have kids. They don’t show unwanted spots.

What is amazing about these tablecloths, not only are they functional, but also able to add beauty to your dining room with its ethnical look.

It was also mentioned that Michael S Smith used ikat on his beautifully designed library as you can see in the picture below:

There we can see a quilt of a traditional Indonesian style covering the sofa and cushions in both Indian fabrics and Turkish ikat.

Will Mr. Smith use ikat in on Obama’s new home? We’ll see.

Picture source: http://homeinteriordesignthemes.com

And, now, people get more and more creative. Not only do they apply the fabric on their home decor, but also on themselves.

I mean, they turn ikat into fashion. And, it becomes a trend. How marvelous.

Check out this blue ikat fabric the lady put on. Such a nice jacket and pretty pants.

Ikat is indeed great to be made into a jacket. Because, some of them are stiff and thick.

The ikat fabric makes you look both ethnical and modern at the same time.

Now, let’s take a look at the vest. It’s only one tiny part of the whole outfit. But, that ikat fabric is what makes it look pretty. It does catch your eyes when you see someone wearing all those.

My point is, there is no limit to the use of ikat fabrics. You just simply have to find the right motifs and the right design. Any way, ikat would look good on you.

Picture 1 (on the right), source: http://www.feminagroup.com/

Picture 2 (on the left), source: http://www.cooldesak.com/

Because, not only can you use the pretty ikat fabrics on your cushions nor sofa, but you can put them on the wall. It just needs a little bit of your creative mind to figure out how it works.

Check out this picture:

It’s a picture of Bob Bob Ricard’s Bar Salon. You can see that the fabrics cover the whole wall. To do that, you have to make sure that you can buy the ikat fabrics by the yard and they have enough of them.

Yet, you can simply put them on one side of your wall, for example the wall behind your fireplace, or the wall behind your bed. That would look nice.

Ikat Fabrics now have various colors and look modern. However, some of them are still more ethnical.

You can apply the one you think fits to the whole theme of your home decoration, whether it’s modern or ethnical.

Especially in East Indonesia. Women living in the traditional villages make various pretty ikat fabrics. They do it in between daily cores. Some even leave it during harvest time. They can do it for only a month, three months or more. Some fabrics need one whole year.

They start learning from such a very young age. They help a bit by tiding the patterns. By the age of 15 yers old, they can start learning the whole weaving process.

They are allowed to really do it when they reach the age of 20. Yet, those who are pregnant and having their period are not permitted to do it as weaving means they have to support the machine using their back.

These women sell their fabrics at home. They don’t sell the ikat fabric by the yard. As, each of the fabric is unique. You might find certain patterns in one village but cannot find it in other villages. So, if you happen to be interested in a fabric, you’d better get it before someone else does.

• Ikat Fabrics are hand-woven using looms, so they don’t go through any mechanical process.
• If you touch them, some would feel a little bit more thick. Yet, some other are less thick but not as thin
• Some uses only natural dyes.
• They look the same on both sides of the fabrics.

What make Ikat Fabrics special?

Not only do they have attractive and lively motifs. And, each is a unique product made by one person. Some even need one whole year to finish.

You can turn them into many things. Some would make pretty tablecloth, some others would make stunning wall decoration, or you can even turn them into sofa cover. Since some are thick, they tend to last longer.

Nowadays, fashion designers also put their eyes on Ikat Fabrics. They turn them into magnificent apparel.

In the clothing and textile industry, ikat refers to a style of weaving using a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design. The dying process applied on the warp is commonly found in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sumba.

In other places, the thread is dyed separately before the weaving process. They bind the fibers into groups of threads. That way, when the thread is dyed, they will not absorb the color. Those doing it must have a very good weaving skill because it is very difficult. People call it Double Ikat.

The dying process, if using natural dyes from plants, may take up months; some even need one whole year.

After the threads with desired color is ready to be woven, it’s time to set the loom up. It might take one whole day to do, and requires two persons to do it. They carefully line up the threads that will be precisely stretched on the loom. That is why they look so perfect that some think that they were printed fabrics.

As it is difficult to make and contains artistic value, people would pay a high amount of money and they turn out into collectible items. Yet, some with simpler process of making and design are also available for sale.

Previously, Central Java is famous for its Batik. But, now, it is also well-known for its many traditional weft-ikat producers.

In Bali, Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara, ikat fabrics made in Central Java are widely known as Rainbow Ikat.

The fabrics are handmade by local artisans using traditional weaving loom. Most of the raw materials are also from the cotton plants owned by the villagers. They do produce good quality cotton.

Many people apply them on various home decorations such as tapestry, cushion cover, curtain, table cloth, and many more. Yet, actually, these Ikat Fabrics would look good when turned into apparel such as dresses, skirts, blazers, pants, blouse.

One of the reputable Indonesian Fashion Designers, Poppy Dharsono, applied them on her creation last August on the APPMI fashion show.