Pochampally Ikat
Lakshmi Amma
Bhoodan Pochampally, Yadadri, Telangana
Tie-and-dye geometry where every thread is coloured before it meets the loom.
Lakshmi Amma is a master of double ikat — a technique where both warp and weft are resist-dyed before weaving so the pattern emerges as the cloth is made.
- 40
- years weaving
- 4
- family members supported
- 3
- pieces for sale
At the loom with Lakshmi
Lakshmi Amma, Pochampally Ikat
The film is being edited and will appear here.
Lakshmi's story
Ikat is mathematics done by hand. Before a single thread is woven, Lakshmi Amma marks, ties and dyes each bundle of yarn so the colours land exactly where the design needs them. One saree can take five weeks.
She was widowed at thirty-four and raised two sons on her earnings from the loom. For years she wove for a master weaver who paid by the piece and kept her designs.
Now her own name is on her work. She teaches tying and dyeing to women in her village on Sunday mornings, and the collective pays them for training days.
“When the pattern appears on the loom, it feels like the cloth is remembering it.”
Woven by Lakshmi
70% of every sale here goes to Lakshmi.