Waves of colour on thin cloth
The idea: whatever is tied tightly, the dye cannot reach. In leheriya the cloth is rolled into a rope and tied at intervals, so the colour falls in diagonal bands.
A cousin of bandhani: bandhani pinches up tiny points of cloth and ties each one, leaving dots. Leheriya ties a whole rolled length, leaving waves. Our page on leheriya and bandhani compares them.
- Family of crafts
- Resist dyeing, with bandhani
- Made by
- Dyeing families, often Rangrez
- Used for
- Saris, odhnis, turbans, dupattas
- Signature colours
- Green, pink, yellow, saffron
- Time to see it made
- A morning in a dyer's courtyard
- Light cloth only: the roll must be tight and true, so leheriya is made on thin cotton, voile, chiffon or silk. Heavy cloth will not roll cleanly.
- Worn by everyone: women wear it as saris and odhnis, men as turbans, and children as small dupattas at festival time.
- A living craft: it is not a museum piece. In the weeks before Teej, the bazaars of Jaipur are piled with new leheriya, and families buy it like school shoes.
- Hand-tied and printed: much cheap leheriya is now printed to look tied. It is pretty and cheap, but the real thing has a depth that a print never quite reaches.
A short history of the wave
Old roots: resist-dyed cloth has been made and traded out of western India for centuries, and tie-dyed patterns appear in early Indian painting and sculpture.
Court fashion: leheriya turbans were worn at the Rajput courts in the rainy season, and court paintings show nobles in striped and checked turbans that look very like it.
- Jaipur's speciality: the dyers of the walled city made leheriya their own, and it is still the cloth most closely tied to Jaipur and its festivals.
- From court to bazaar: what began as monsoon court wear became the festival cloth of every family, sold by the metre in every bazaar before Teej.
- Designers today: fashion designers in Delhi, Mumbai and abroad now commission leheriya from dyeing families, which has given some of them steady work and new colours.
- What has changed: synthetic dyes replaced most plant colours in the twentieth century, and printed copies arrived later still. The rolling and tying by hand has not changed at all.
How leheriya is made, step by step
Preparing the cloth
- Washing: the cloth is washed to remove starch and finish, so that the dye will take evenly.
- The length: a sari of about five or six metres, a turban length or an odhni. The longer the piece, the harder it is to roll evenly.
Rolling from corner to corner
Diagonal: the dyer takes one corner and rolls the cloth towards the opposite corner, keeping the roll tight and even, like a long rope.
- Why diagonal: rolling on the bias is what makes the stripes run at a slant across the finished cloth. Roll it straight and you get plain stripes.
- The hardest part: a crooked roll gives crooked waves, and no amount of dyeing can fix it. Watch the dyer's hands here.
Tying the bands
Binding: the rolled cloth is folded back on itself and bound tightly with thread at regular intervals.
- Spacing: the distance between ties sets the width of each wave. The tightness decides how crisp the edges will be.
- Fine leheriya: the narrowest waves need very close, very tight ties, and they take the longest.
Dyeing from light to dark
First bath: the roll goes into the lightest colour, usually yellow or pale pink, and is then rinsed.
- More colours: for multicoloured pieces the dyer ties new bands or loosens old ones between baths, always working from light to dark.
- Drying: between baths the cloth is wrung gently and dried in the sun, which in a Rajasthani summer takes minutes.
The opening
- Untying: the threads are cut and the roll is opened out. The waves appear all at once, and the dyer checks them along the full length.
- The magic moment: guests who roll their own scarf always remember this. The waves are never quite straight, and entirely theirs.
The patterns and what they are called
Single leheriya
- What it is: diagonal waves in one direction, in one or more colours. The classic and the most common.
- How to recognise it: stripes running at a slant from one edge to the other, with soft, slightly feathered edges.
Mothda, the check
What it is: the cloth is rolled, tied and dyed from one corner, then unrolled and rolled again from the other corner and dyed again. The waves cross into a fine check.
- The name: it is said to come from moth, a small lentil, because the undyed spaces are about that size. You will see it written mothda and mothra.
- Who wears it: men in turbans as much as women in saris, especially in the rains.
Panchranga, five colours
- What it is: leheriya in five colours, often yellow, red, green, blue and pink, worked through several baths.
- When: at weddings, fairs and festivals. It is festive and auspicious, and the most cheerful cloth in Rajasthan.
Multicoloured and ombre leheriya
- What it is: pieces where the colour of the waves shifts along the length, or where several colours sit side by side.
- Where: the finer shops of Jaipur and Jodhpur, and the studios of designers who work with dyeing families.
Leheriya with bandhani
- What it is: leheriya grounds with bandhani borders or dots, combining the two crafts in one piece.
- Why it matters: it shows a dyeing family working at full skill, and it is a lovely heirloom piece for a wedding.
Colours, and what they say
Green for the rains: after the long dry summer, the land turns green with the monsoon, and green leheriya is the colour of that relief.
Pink and red: colours of marriage and love. A newly married woman's first Teej is often celebrated in red or pink leheriya from her mother's family.
- Green
- Rain, new growth, Teej
- Pink and red
- Love, marriage, festivals
- Yellow
- Spring and auspicious days
- Saffron
- Courage and celebration, in turbans
- Five colours
- Panchranga, weddings and fairs
- Yellow: a colour of spring and of auspicious beginnings, often the first bath in a multicoloured piece.
- Saffron in turbans: men's leheriya turbans often carry saffron or pink. Our piece on the turbans of Rajasthan explains the colours.
- Meanings vary: communities and families read colours differently, so we never assume and always ask. Our Rajasthani dress and textiles guide gives the wider picture.
- Natural and synthetic dyes: most leheriya today uses synthetic dyes, which are bright and consistent. A few workshops still use plant dyes, which are softer and less even.
Leheriya belongs to the monsoon
Sawan: the rainy month of Shravan, when the land turns green and women sing the songs of the rains on swings hung from trees.
Teej: the festival of married women, celebrating the reunion of Shiva and Parvati, falls in the monsoon. Women wear green and pink leheriya, apply mehndi and fast for their husbands. Our Teej page explains it.
- Teej in Jaipur: the goddess is carried from the City Palace in a procession through Tripolia Gate, and the women lining the route wear their finest leheriya. Our piece on Teej in Jaipur follows the day.
- Kajli Teej in Bundi: later in the monsoon, Bundi celebrates its own Teej, and the town painted for the rains is at its loveliest.
- Ghevar: the honeycombed disc of fried batter soaked in syrup that every Jaipur family buys for Teej. Our piece on ghevar and Teej tells its story.
- The leheriya gate: in the City Palace of Jaipur, Pritam Niwas Chowk has four painted gates for the seasons. The green Leheriya Gate stands for spring. Our City Palace page shows it.
Where to see it made, and where to buy
Jaipur, the home of leheriya
Kishanpole Bazaar: running south from Choti Chaupar, good for tie-dyed fabrics by the metre.
- Johari Bazaar: fills with leheriya saris and turbans in the weeks before Teej. Our guide to the bazaars of Jaipur maps both.
- A dyer's workshop: we arrange a morning in the walled city where you roll and tie your own scarf, and pair it with the block printers of Bagru.
Jodhpur, around Sardar Market
- Where: the lanes around the Clock Tower and Sardar Market, where bolts of tie-dye hang from the shopfronts.
- What: bandhani above all, but leheriya too, in bold Marwari colours. Combine it with a turban lesson in the same city.
Bikaner and the northern desert
- What: leheriya and bandhani in strong desert colours, good for everyday wear and kind on the wallet.
- Read more: our Bikaner guide covers the bazaar.
Fixed-price shops
- Why use them: Rajasthali, the government emporium on MI Road in Jaipur, gives a fair idea of prices before you buy in the bazaar.
- Our approach: we never take a commission, and our textile shopping experience is built around honest shops we know.
Real or printed: how to tell
Look at the back: on hand-tied leheriya the waves go right through and are almost as strong on the reverse. A print is usually much paler behind.
Look at the edges: real waves wander a little and bleed softly. Perfectly ruled, hard-edged stripes are printed.
- Look at the fabric: real leheriya is made on thin cloth. Heavy, stiff fabric with crisp stripes is almost certainly printed.
- Look at the repeat: a print repeats exactly. Hand-tied waves vary slightly in width along the length.
- Ask: a good shopkeeper will tell you honestly whether a piece is hand-tied, how many colours it went through and whether the dyes are natural.
- Expect to pay more: a fine hand-tied sari represents days of skilled work and several dye baths, and should be priced accordingly. Our shopping guide explains fair prices.
What most visitors miss
The men's turbans: visitors notice the saris, but the leheriya safas on older men at a monsoon wedding are often the finest pieces in the room.
The cloth still tied: some shops sell leheriya still rolled and bound. Ask to see one, and the shopkeeper may open it in front of you.
- The dye on the dyer's hands: in a working courtyard, the colours of the week are written on the dyers' fingers and forearms.
- The temple cloth: at festival time, look at the cloths and clothes offered in small temples and shrines. Leheriya appears there too, as a gift to the gods.
- The painted waves: the green Leheriya Gate of the City Palace in Jaipur is painted with the same diagonal rhythm as the cloth. Few visitors notice the link.
Wearing leheriya, at home and here
As a scarf: a leheriya dupatta over a plain kurta or dress is the simplest way to wear it, and covers your shoulders in temples.
As a sari: a leheriya chiffon sari is light enough for a hot afternoon and festive enough for a wedding. Our journal on how to wear a sari helps.
- As a turban: for men, a leheriya safa for a monsoon wedding or a Teej evening. A turban tier can tie it for you, as our turban-tying session explains.
- For a celebration: at a monsoon wedding or vow renewal, leheriya for the whole party is a beautiful choice. Our destination weddings page explains how we plan it.
- With jewellery: silver with green leheriya, gold with pink or red. Our Rajasthani jewellery guide explains what goes with what.
- From a tailor: in Jaipur or Jodhpur a tailor can turn leheriya fabric into a kurta or a light jacket in a day or two.
Caring for leheriya at home
Wash it alone: the first few times, in cold water with mild soap. Many dyes still release colour, and natural dyes almost always do.
Don't wring: roll it in a towel to remove water, then dry it in the shade. Strong sun fades the brightest pinks and greens.
- Silk and chiffon: best dry-cleaned by someone who knows Indian textiles.
- Store it folded in cotton: never in plastic, and refold it now and then so the creases don't wear through.
- Iron gently: on a low setting, ideally on the reverse, to keep the waves crisp without scorching thin cloth.
The dyers behind the waves
The communities: in the old cities many dyers come from Rangrez families, the hereditary dyers, and from Chhipa communities who also print cloth. Indigo dyers are known as Neelgar.
Women's work: much of the tying is done by women at home, paid by the piece. Their skill is what makes fine leheriya possible.
- Pressure from print: cheap printed copies have made life hard for many dyeing families, and some young people have moved to other trades.
- Water and dye: synthetic dye run-off is a real problem for some old dyeing towns. We prefer workshops that are open about their dyes and their water.
- How we work: we pay the families who host you directly and fairly, never through a showroom. Our piece on the artisans we work with explains more.
- Photography: ask first, especially before photographing the women tying. Many prefer that you photograph their hands rather than their faces.
Fitting leheriya into your journey
In the monsoon: a week in Jaipur and Udaipur in July or August catches Teej and the rains. Our monsoon in Mewar journey is built for it.
- Best to see it worn
- July and August, before Teej
- Best to see it made
- October to March, cool mornings
- Allow
- Three hours for a dyeing morning
- Pair with
- Bagru block printing, a tailor
- Best journey
- The textile and craft trail
- In winter: the comfortable season for a morning in a dyer's courtyard, when the sun dries cloth fast and the dye baths are welcome warmth.
- The craft trail: our textile and craft trail links Jaipur's dyers and printers with the tie-dye lanes of Jodhpur.
- More crafts: our page on block printing and crafts covers the other makers worth meeting on the same days.