The Story Behind Hand-Block Printing
Behind every hand-block print is a carver, a printer and hours of patient work. A look at the craft that gives our cottons their soul.
Team KASHVIRA · 24 June 2026 · 5 min read
Hand-block printing is one of India's oldest textile crafts. In clusters like Bagru and Sanganer, families have practised it for generations — and it's the reason no two of our printed pieces are ever exactly alike.
It begins with the block
Each design is hand-carved into a teak-wood block by a master carver. A single motif can take days, and an intricate pattern may need several blocks — one for each colour.
Printed by hand, colour by colour
The printer dips the block in natural dye and stamps it across the fabric by eye, repeating the motif thousands of times. Every layer of colour is a separate pass. The tiny irregularities you'll spot are the signature of a human hand, not a flaw.
Why it's worth it
Supporting hand-block printing keeps a centuries-old craft — and the artisans who hold it — alive. It's slower and it's imperfect, and that's exactly the point.