What Bandhani Is and How to Spot It
Launch library · evergreen read
Bandhani describes both a distinctive dotted pattern and the resist dyeing technique used to create it, with fabric tied into tiny, tight knots before being dipped into dye so the tied sections resist colour and leave behind small, characteristic dots once untied. Genuine bandhani is entirely done by hand, one tiny knot at a time across the whole piece.
Spotting authentic bandhani comes down to close inspection of the dots themselves, since hand tied pieces show slight, natural variation in size and placement that a printed imitation simply cannot replicate convincingly under close examination. Printed versions tend to have dots that are too perfectly uniform, spaced with a mechanical regularity real tying rarely produces.
The fabric's reverse side offers another useful clue worth checking before you buy. Genuine tie dyed bandhani often shows the raised texture of where knots were tied, even after the dyeing process is complete, while a printed imitation typically remains completely flat and smooth on both sides of the fabric.