Originally from Indonesia, the term ikat comes from the verb mengikat, which means "to bind". Initially, ikats were made with a warp, the skeins of which were first bound and dyed to give the pattern a blurred effect. Here, this pattern of irregular squares is called KASURI, which means "ikat" in Japanese. It is printed on a warp and then laminated on a non-woven backing. This type of design is familiar from Central and East Asian productions, as well as from China, where it seems to have developed around the 6th century.
