Tie a length of cloth just so, dip it in dye, and unfurl a ripple of diagonal stripes. This is leheriya, Rajasthan's tie-dye of waves.
✨ Fun fact: The name leheriya comes from leher, the Hindi word for “wave” — and the cloth was once the favourite of Rajput men, whose turbans rippled with its colours.
As lovers of resist-dyeing in all its forms, we find leheriya one of the most joyful textile traditions in India.
The wave and its name
Leheriya takes its name from leher, “wave” — and that is exactly what it shows: fine, diagonal lines of colour running like ripples across the cloth. It is a tie-and-dye (or resist) art, cousin to Rajasthan's dotted bandhani — but where bandhani makes spots, leheriya makes stripes.
How the waves are made
The magic is in the folding. A long, thin length of cloth — traditionally fine cotton or silk — is rolled diagonally from corner to corner into a rope, then bound tightly at intervals with thread before dyeing. Where the thread binds, the dye cannot reach, leaving undyed lines. Unrolled, the cloth reveals its signature diagonal waves. To add more colours, it is untied, re-rolled and re-bound, again and again.
The home of leheriya
Leheriya is a craft of Rajasthan — above all Jaipur, Jodhpur and the towns of the desert. It was worn as turbans (safa) and as the flowing odhni veils and sarees of women, and is still especially loved in the monsoon and at festivals such as Teej and Gangaur, when its bright waves feel like a celebration of the rains.
Many colours, many names
The number of colours gives leheriya its names: panchranga (five-coloured) and satranga (seven-coloured) are the most prized. A related technique, mothra, ties the cloth twice in opposite directions to create a lattice of tiny checks instead of stripes.
The thread we love
What draws us to leheriya is the same wonder we feel at our own looms: that with nothing more than thread, a fold and a patient hand, plain cloth can be turned into a pattern as alive as moving water. Explore our Leheriya collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is leheriya?
A traditional Rajasthani tie-dye technique that creates diagonal, wave-like stripes on cloth by rolling and tightly binding the fabric before dyeing. Its name comes from leher, meaning “wave.”
How is leheriya different from bandhani?
Both are Rajasthani resist tie-dye crafts, but bandhani is made by tying tiny points to create dotted patterns, while leheriya is made by rolling and binding the cloth to create diagonal stripes.
What are panchranga and satranga leheriya?
Panchranga means five-coloured and satranga means seven-coloured — the most prized multi-colour leheriya, made by repeatedly re-tying and re-dyeing the cloth.
Sources & further reading
- Studies of Rajasthani resist-dyeing (leheriya, bandhani and mothra).
- Museum documentation on Indian tie-dye textiles.
