# Ikat weaving: watching the atlas process

> Ikat is a resist-dye technique — warp threads are bound and dyed one colour at a time before weaving, so the entire pattern is created before the loom starts. Watch it done at Margilan or Bukhara.

**Ikat** (Malay for "to tie") is a weaving technique found from Southeast Asia to Central America, but Uzbek ikat is the most iconic — vividly polychrome, sharply patterned, and made almost exclusively of silk.

**The process**:
1. **Reel silk** from cocoons in hot water. One cocoon = ~1 km of raw silk thread.
2. **Warp the loom**. Set up thousands of parallel silk threads at the intended fabric length.
3. **Bind the pattern**. This is the hardest step. The master weaver ties tight cotton knots at exactly the right positions along each warp thread so those spots resist the first dye bath. A single 30-cm pattern repeat can take 40+ hours to bind.
4. **Dye the darkest colour first** (usually black or deep blue). Untie some knots.
5. **Rebind and dye the next colour**. Repeat for each colour in the pattern (typically 4–8 colours).
6. **Untie all knots**. The warp now carries the full colour pattern in exactly the right sequence.
7. **Weave** with a plain-weft coloured thread (often black or white silk). The pattern appears as the fabric grows on the loom.

Because the pattern is made before weaving, the finished ikat has slightly "blurred" edges where colours meet — a hallmark of the technique.

**Where to watch**:
- **Yodgorlik Factory, Margilan** — largest working ikat mill, full tour of every step.
- **Said Ahmad Hoja, Margilan** — smaller family workshop, more personal.
- **Bukhara trading domes** — a few weavers demonstrate at looms in the tourist zone.

**Pure silk vs cotton-silk (adras)**:
- **Atlas** = pure silk. Higher sheen, softer drape, ~$30–50/m.
- **Adras** = silk warp, cotton weft. Sturdier, matte, ~$15–25/m. Better for upholstery and clothing.
- **Bekasab** = fully cotton. Cheapest, ~$8–15/m.

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Keywords: ikat, atlas, adras, silk, weaving, Margilan
Updated: 2026-08-15
Category: experiences
URL: https://uzbguidedtours.com/kb/kb-experience-ikat-weaving