Textile Dyeing and Printing Heritage in Pakistan: A Study of Khadi and Traditional Fabrics

Abstract

Pakistan is a country with rich traditions emerging from various faiths which are reflected in the expression of regional folk arts. Pakistan lies in an area where not only earlier known human civilizations flourished but it also witnessed continued march of vanguards of various civilizations from central Asia and Near East. The rich heritage of Pakistan’s art and craft has evolved over an extended period of 5000 years. In this duration Pakistan became the crossroad of many splendid cultures and enriched the world with an amazing variety of cultural, religious, linguistic, and artistic expressions. This intermingling of cultures surprisingly influenced all kinds of arts and crafts, including textile arts. Due to diversified talents, interests and inspiration, different regions have their special identity for unique folk textile crafts. In this land, the traditional textile artisans of the Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochis tan and Kashmir have been pursuing their skills, as they have done for generations. Admitting diverse art heritage of distinctive regions of Pakistan, this paper overviews some historic traditional textiles nurtured here. Design is the backbone of graphic art, design that is a part of art actually a part of our life and personality and influences the enjoyment of everything to do and of everything to select. Textile designs developed from three sources the quality of the fabric the size and type of yarn and the way they are combined if more than one is used..The aim of this paper is to trace the history of textile designing and printing with special reference to khadi. It also explores the challenges of Pakistan’s textile industry which has given recommendations to developing it for the progress of industrialization in Pakistan.