Threads of Life
Threads of Life has worked directly with over 1000 weavers on 12 islands across Indonesia since 1998, supporting the continued weaving and use of heirloom-quality traditional textiles and baskets made with local materials and natural dyes.
The Farmer to Fabric collection of hand-dyed natural-dyed fabrics brings the production values of our partner weaving communities to the work of our own dye studio in rural Bali: we use natural dyes by natural processes, avoiding synthetic additives; we work by hand, so that the mastery of our in-house dyers is evident in the look and feel of every unique piece; and we support sustainable cultivation and use of the dye plants as a way of supporting the husbands of the weavers we work with.
Products
In our natural dye studio, our production practices privilege quality, consistency and colorfastness. These practices are rooted in our work in the field and dye garden. Our field work with indigenous dyers focusses on traditions that have degraded and are being recovered, documenting local dye recipes and processes, and testing them in the studio before taking suggested refinements back to the communities. In the dye garden, we establish cultivation and harvesting methods to address plant resource scarcity being faced by traditional dyers.
This combination of skill sets and experience allows us to make natural dyes by natural processes, with time-tested, colourfast traditional Indonesian dye recipes using plant dyes and plant mordants, and without synthetic modifiers. All our work is by-hand, from the scouring, through the dyeing and finishing.
We focus on a palette of indigos, browns and yellows. For the indigo, we have farmers in Central Java, east Bali, and central Flores growing Strobilanthes cusia, and farmers in Timor growing Indigofera tinctoria. Farmers in east Bali tap coconut trees for the palm sugar we need in the indigo dye recipe. A Forest Stewardship Council-certified concession in Papua supplies Ceriops tagal bark for beautiful shades of brown-red, which are fixed with a community-sourced Symplocos cochinchinensis plant-based mordant from Flores. The yellow comes from Artocarpus heterophyllus (jackfruit wood) upon cloth mordanted with Symplocos cochinchinensis. We make our own pH-neutral soap for use in our scouring and finishing processes from cold-pressed Aleurites moluccana (candlenut) oil sourced from one of our weaving groups in Timor. We use our waste water to irrigate our dye garden. At all stages, we are developing transparent and accountable supply chains and production processes.
Cotton Meterage
IDR 1,200,000
Plain weave, single panel, cotton, natural dyes. Approximately 300 x 150 cm.
Crepe de Chine Meterage
IDR 1,400,000
Plain weave, single panel, crepe de chine silk, natural dyes. Approximately 200 x 54 cm.
Linen Meterage
IDR 1,750,000
Plain weave, single panel, linen, natural dyes. Approximately 300 x 140 cm.
Jarit Carrying Cloth
IDR 2,750,000
Plain weave, single panel, handspun cotton, natural dyes. Approximately 300 x 80 cm.
On the north coast of East Java there are villages with a tradition of weaving textiles from locally grown, handspun cotton. However, thriving local demand for cheap, synthetically dyed batik on commercial cotton has led to the steep decline of handspun and natural dyed work. Addressing this, Threads of Life works with local farmers, spinners, and weavers to commission the continued production of the traditional cloths.
One of three customary sizes, the jarit is a piece of cloth long enough to form a sling that circles the body twice from one shoulder to the opposite hip. Bought as undyed cotton, these jarit have been dyed at the Threads of Life natural dye studio in Bali using indigo dye from Strobilanthes cusia or a rust brown dye from Ceriops tagal. Inconsistencies in the tightness of the handspinning alter the dye saturation of this unrefined cotton giving a subtle and beautiful character to these pieces.
Sayut Sarong Hip Cloth
IDR 2,750,000
Plain weave, single panel, macrame fringe, handspun cotton, natural dyes. Approximately 340 x 55 cm.
One of three customary sizes, the sayut is a sarong-size piece of cloth. Bought as undyed cotton, these sayut have been dyed at the Threads of Life natural dye studio in Bali using indigo dye from Strobilanthes cusia or a rust brown dye from Ceriops tagal. Inconsistencies in the tightness of the handspinning and the dye saturation of this unrefined cotton give a subtle and beautiful character to these pieces.
Seser Scarf
IDR 975,000
Plain weave, single panel, twisted fringe, handspun cotton, natural dyes. Approximately 200 x 40 cm
One of three customary sizes, the seser, is a traditional scarf. Bought as undyed cotton, these seser have been dyed at the Threads of Life natural dye studio in Bali in three shades of indigo using Strobailanthes cusia, mustard using Artocarpus heterophyllus wood, and a deep rust using Ceriops tegal bark. All dyes are from sustainable sources.
How to Order
Enquiries to events@threadsoflife.com, please state the name of the textile.
First come first served basis — each buyer will have five working days to make payment.
Shipping, import duty, VAT not included.
All sales are final and no returns will be accepted.