Quinn Black Table Runner

Block printing is a centuries-old craft. Though it might be the simplest and slowest of all textile printing methods, it yields some of the most beautiful results.

This ancient technique demands precision and patience: each block is skilfully hand carved then carefully, laboriously, lined up by eye upon the fabric. It is these human processes that result, inevitably, in slight irregularities. A machine-printed fabric might, by contrast, be perfectly executed, yet it is somehow always a little flat, lacking the inherent liveliness of a hand printed piece.

The block printer begins by marking on the length of cloth, with a piece of chalk and ruler, where the first impressions of the block should be applied. Then they dip the block in the colour and press it firmly and steadily onto the cloth, ensuring a good impression by tapping it smartly on the back with their hand, twice. Each block must be carefully lined up next to the one before – for this reason, the blocks are cut at a slight angle, so that the edge is visible. It can take as many as 300 impressions to produce one metre of cloth. The print studios we work with are immensely proud of India’s block printing heritage and it is our privilege to be able to work alongside them and to learn from their experience.