Craft libraryTEXTILE TRADITIONS
Leheriya & BADAL WAVES AND CLOUDS
Two of Rajasthan's most evocative dyeing traditions ~ one captures the diagonal rhythm of desert waves, the other the soft unpredictability of monsoon clouds. Both belong to the family of resist-dye techniques, and both produce cloth that can never be exactly repeated.
This essay looks at the history of Indian dyeing. Our own pieces are not coloured with natural dyes.
One
LEHERIYA ~ waves IN CLOTH
The word leheriya comes from leher, meaning "wave" in Hindi, and the technique creates exactly that ~ a pattern of diagonal, wave-like stripes that ripple across the surface of the fabric in vivid colour. It is one of Rajasthan's most distinctive and beloved textile traditions.
The process begins with a length of fabric ~ traditionally cotton or silk ~ which is rolled tightly on the diagonal, from one corner to the opposite. Once rolled into a long, narrow rope, the fabric is tied at regular intervals with thread or string. These ties create the resist points. The rolled, tied fabric is then immersed in dye.
When the fabric is removed, unrolled, and opened, the areas protected by the ties have remained undyed, creating a diagonal stripe pattern. The process can be repeated ~ retying in different positions and dyeing in a second or third colour ~ to build up multi-coloured wave patterns of considerable complexity.
Hands pull fabric from the indigo dye bath, revealing the unpredictable patterns of badal
Two
THE TURBAN & monsoon TRADITION
Leheriya has a particularly strong association with the Rajasthani turban, or pagri. In the desert heat, turbans are a practical necessity, but in Rajasthan they are also a statement of identity, status, and occasion. Leheriya turbans are traditionally worn during the monsoon season and at festivals ~ the wave pattern is seen as an invocation of rain, a visual prayer for the monsoon in a land where water is life.
Different colours and wave patterns are associated with different occasions. A bright yellow and red leheriya might be worn at a wedding. A deeper, more sombre palette might be chosen for a religious gathering. The turban fabric is typically nine metres long, and the leheriya pattern runs along its entire length, creating a cascading wave effect when the cloth is wrapped and draped around the head.
The association between leheriya and the monsoon runs deep. The diagonal waves represent the sheets of rain that sweep across the desert landscape during July and August. There is a tradition of women gifting leheriya dupattas during the festival of Teej, which celebrates the onset of the monsoon and is associated with the goddess Parvati.
Three
BADAL ~ clouds IN CLOTH
If leheriya captures the precision of waves, badal captures the unpredictability of clouds. The word badal means "cloud" in Hindi, and the technique produces exactly that effect ~ soft, diffused areas of colour that blend and overlap in ways that are never quite the same twice. Where leheriya is geometric and controlled, badal is organic and surprising. Where leheriya makes waves, badal makes weather.
The badal technique belongs to the same family of resist-dye methods, but the approach to manipulating the fabric is fundamentally different. Rather than rolling the fabric on a precise diagonal, the cloth is gathered, bunched, folded, twisted, or crumpled ~ often dampened first ~ and then secured with ties, clamps, or wrapping.
When the fabric is immersed in dye and then opened, the result is a cloth with soft, cloud-like areas of colour and undyed fabric. The boundaries between dyed and undyed areas are not sharp lines but gentle gradients ~ colour bleeding softly into the cloth like watercolour on wet paper. The effect is atmospheric, moody, and deeply organic.
“No two pieces ever come out the same. That is not a limitation ~ it is the whole point. When you wear badal, you wear something the world has seen only once.”
DOI's Deep Sea Collection ~ Badal in Indigo
Daughters of India's Deep Sea collection uses the badal technique to create some of our most distinctive garments. The process begins with soft cotton that is washed and dampened. The fabric is then carefully folded and bunched ~ not randomly, but with an artisan's intuition about how the folds will interact with the dye. The bunched fabric is secured and immersed in indigo for hours, the deep blue penetrating the exposed surfaces while the hidden folds remain lighter or undyed entirely.
The result is a garment with soft, unpredictable gradations of indigo ~ deep navy where the dye saturated fully, softer blues where the folds partially resisted, and pale, almost white areas where the fabric was most deeply hidden. No two pieces ever come out the same. Each Deep Sea garment is, quite literally, one of a kind.
Four
LEHERIYA VS BADAL ~ geometry AND chance
Leheriya is controlled. The fabric is rolled on a precise diagonal. The ties are placed at measured intervals. The resulting pattern follows a clear geometric logic. The artisan is working toward a known outcome, using their skill to achieve consistency and rhythm. A well-made leheriya is a celebration of order.
Badal is yielded to. The fabric is bunched and folded in ways that create complexity beyond what the artisan can fully predict. The dye will find its own paths through the folds, and the final pattern emerges as a collaboration between the maker's intentions and the behaviour of materials. A beautiful badal is a celebration of surrender.
These are not opposites so much as complementary ways of thinking about pattern. Many Rajasthani textile traditions sit somewhere along this spectrum, from the tight precision of bandhani to the flowing unpredictability of badal, with leheriya occupying a middle ground that partakes of both.
The deep blue of indigo ~ the dye at the heart of the badal tradition
Five
A TRADITION BETWEEN two WORLDS
Leheriya and badal sit at an interesting crossroads in the world of Indian textiles. They are deeply traditional ~ rooted in the culture, climate, and ceremonies of Rajasthan ~ yet they produce results that feel strikingly modern. The clean diagonals of leheriya have an almost graphic quality that resonates with contemporary design sensibilities. The soft gradients of badal feel at home in a world that has grown to appreciate the organic and the imperfect.
This is, perhaps, one reason why these techniques have found new life in the work of designers and brands who are bridging tradition and modernity. At Daughters of India, the badal technique is not a nostalgic gesture toward the past. It is a living practice, performed by artisans who bring both inherited knowledge and personal creativity to each piece they make. The Deep Sea collection is a testament to what happens when ancient methods meet contemporary vision ~ cloth that honours its origins while speaking to the present moment.
The Kyra in Deep Sea ~ cloud-like badal tie-dye patterns emerge from the indigo dye bath
Written by the Daughters of India team
Read next
Bandhani ~ A Thousand Knots
The tie-resist cousin of leheriya and badal ~ dot patterns of extraordinary precision.
Resist Printing
The wider family of techniques that includes leheriya and badal ~ hiding to reveal.
Indigo ~ The King of Dyes
The dye at the heart of our Deep Sea badal collection ~ a colour with centuries of history.