The History of Block Printing in India: The Craft Behind Our Table Linens

There is something special about seeing a pattern on a piece of fabric and knowing that it did not just come out of a machine.

It was pressed onto the fabric, one impression at a time, by someone's hands.

That is the beauty of hand block printing.

It's a craft with a long history in India, with different regions and communities developing their own techniques, colours, motifs, and ways of working with fabric. Today, these traditions continue to evolve, finding their way into clothing, home textiles, table linens, and everyday objects.

And that is part of what drew us to these textiles at 15 Arras.

What Is Hand Block Printing?

The basic idea is wonderfully simple.

A design is carved into a wooden block. The block is coated with dye or pigment and pressed onto fabric. The printer then repeats the process across the cloth, carefully aligning each impression to build the complete pattern.

If there are several colours in a design, each colour generally requires its own block and its own pass over the fabric.

It sounds straightforward. It isn't.

Getting the pressure, placement, alignment, and rhythm right takes skill developed through practice. And because the fabric is being printed by hand, tiny variations can occur from one impression to the next.

Those small differences are part of what makes hand block printed fabric feel different from a digitally reproduced pattern.

A Craft With Deep Roots

India has a very long history of decorated and printed textiles.

Evidence of sophisticated textile production goes back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, while some of the earliest surviving examples of Indian printed and dyed cotton textiles have been found outside India, including fragments discovered at Fustat, near Cairo, that scholars have traced to Gujarat.

Over centuries, printing traditions developed across different parts of the country.

Rajasthan became particularly well known for traditions including Bagru, Dabu, and Sanganeri printing, while Gujarat developed traditions such as Ajrakh. Madhya Pradesh is known for Bagh printing, among many other regional practices.

So when we say "Indian block printing," we're really talking about a collection of regional traditions rather than one single style.

Each has its own history.

The People Behind the Print

The wooden block is only one part of the story.

Behind a finished piece of block printed fabric are craftspeople who have developed highly specialised skills — from carving and preparing blocks to printing, dyeing, washing, and finishing the fabric.

In some communities, these skills have been passed through generations.

The Craft Revival Trust describes how different printing centres developed distinctive traditions based on their local materials, geography, techniques, and the skills of the communities who practised them.

This is something we think about whenever we work with textiles from India.

It's easy to look at a finished table runner and simply see a pattern.

But there is a person behind that pattern.

Why Does Hand Block Printing Look Different?

If you look closely at a hand block printed textile, you may notice that the print isn't perfectly uniform.

A line may be slightly softer in one place.

A motif may not land exactly where a machine would have placed it.

The colour may have subtle variations.

These aren't necessarily flaws. They're evidence of the process.

The fabric carries small traces of the person who made it.

And for us, that's part of the appeal.

From Clothing to the Home

Printed textiles have never been limited to clothing.

Historically, Indian printed textiles have been used for everything from garments and furnishings to hangings and other household purposes.

Today, those traditions can still find a place in contemporary homes.

A hand block printed table runner can bring pattern to a simple dining table.

A set of cotton napkins can add colour to an everyday meal.

Placemats can make a table feel a little more considered without requiring a complete tablescape.

The craft may be centuries old, but there is nothing old-fashioned about using it in a modern home.

Why We Chose Block Printed Textiles for 15 Arras

This is really where the history becomes personal for us.

We wanted to work with textiles that had a story behind them — not just because the patterns are beautiful, but because the process matters too.

Our table linens are designed to be used.

For everyday meals.

For Sunday breakfasts.

For dinners with friends.

For setting the table when you're hosting.

And as we move into fall, they also make lovely pieces for the season of gathering that comes with cooler evenings, festive meals, and more time around the table.

A table runner or set of napkins can also make a thoughtful gift for a new homeowner, a host, a friend, or someone who simply loves beautiful things for their home.

A Different Kind of Imperfection

There is a tendency to think that something handmade should look rustic or unfinished.

That's not what we mean when we talk about hand block printing.

The skill involved is often about achieving consistency while working entirely by hand. The result is a textile that feels refined, but still carries evidence of the process that made it.

That's the balance we love.

Traditional craft, but not something that feels like it belongs only in the past.

A textile with history, used in a modern home.

Keeping the Craft in Everyday Life

For us, supporting traditional textile crafts isn't only about preserving something from the past.

It's also about giving these skills a place in the present.

When a hand block printed textile becomes part of someone's home, it isn't sitting behind glass as an artefact.

It's being used.

Washed.

Folded.

Put on the table again.

Maybe it becomes the runner someone uses every Sunday. Maybe a set of napkins becomes part of family dinners. Maybe a table linen becomes a housewarming or wedding gift and eventually becomes part of someone else's home.

That's what we like about textiles.

They carry stories, but they also become part of new ones.

And perhaps that's the best way to keep an old craft alive — not simply by talking about its history, but by continuing to find a place for it in everyday life.