Lea's Clothing

Our Story

In a world where most everything is mass produced and machine made, it’s difficult to imagine the days when garments were sewn by hand and cloth was block printed. Entranced by the colors and patterns of these hand-blocked Indian textiles, we were inspired to launch our own clothing line. We made the long journey to India in February 2020 to source our own clothing brand using hand-block Indian textiles.

Hand-block printing is a very old and traditional style, practiced by the artisans of India. These are hereditary crafts passed down generation to generation with intense precision and training. Many steps are involved from beginning to the end of a handcrafted garment.

Washing and Drying the Fabric

Cotton fabric is soaked in water for 24 to 48 hours. This removes some of the starchiness of the fibers. Artisans beat the lengths of cotton on river stones worn down by years of use to make them softer, and then lay them out to dry and to be naturally bleached by the sun.

Carving the Blocks

A design, either traditional or modern, is drawn onto paper and then transferred to a perfectly smooth block of wood. Teak is often the wood of choice but mango or what is readily available can be used. Some designs can take more than a week to be carved.

Block Printing

Each color pattern is stamped individually onto the fabric. The process takes time and skill as the pattern must be stamped repeatedly across the fabric, color by color. The subtle gaps and overlaps are a beautiful reminder of the time and hard work involved and gives block-printing it’s iconic look.

Final Wash and Dry

Once the printing is complete and the color has set, the fabric is thoroughly washed and dried. The fabric is now ready to be made into clothing. It’s truly awe inspiring that this fine craft has stood the test of time and barely changed for hundreds of years. History has never looked so beautiful.

We are proud to support fair trade and help support artisans, keeping hand printed textiles and traditions alive. We look forward to mixing traditional Indian fashion with our own fresh original designs.