Dumbara rata kalala runner
Three weeks on a pit loom in Thalagune, in a pattern held only in the weaver's head.
$340
Indigo handloom sarong
$96
The check is woven from dyed thread, not printed on afterwards.
Materials & dimensions
- Handloom cotton
- Indigo-dyed yarn
110 × 1 × 200 cm · 320 g
Care
Cold wash separately for the first three washes; indigo sheds surface dye before it settles. Dry in shade. It gets softer and slightly paler for about a year, then holds.
Shipping & duties
Standard $39
Express $74.10
North America · 320 g
Free standard shipping over $250.
Import duties and taxes are set by United States, not by us. They are not included above, and your carrier collects them on delivery.
The story
A sarong is a tube of cloth and a knot, and it is what most men on this island are wearing the moment they get home. There is no sizing and no fastening. You step in, gather the excess to the front, and roll it down at the waist.
The check here is woven, which is the distinction worth paying for. The threads are dyed before they go on the loom, in two strengths of indigo, and the pattern happens where warp crosses weft. That means it exists all the way through the cloth and cannot wear off. A printed check sits on one face and starts going patchy inside a year.
Karunawathi weaves these between commissioned pieces. They are the plainest thing she makes and she has said more than once that she prefers them.
Karunawathi Menike
Thalagune, Udu Dumbara, Central Province · working since 1986
