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/sumba-ikat · pattern · 3 readings

Sumba ikat designs: ancestor figure, horse band, skull tree in three styles

Sumba ikat — A branching tree hung with rows of skulls, worked in warp ikat so every outline steps and blurs, the tree centred in a band and mirrored on the band below, small birds standing in its branches, the ground a deep indigo., warp ikat on hand-spun cotton, threads bound and dyed in indigo then morinda root before weaving

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all 9 samples — three readings, three styles ↓

Reading 1Skull tree
Reading 2Horses and riders
Reading 3Trade-cloth grid

Sumba's hinggi cloth binds and dyes its warp threads in indigo and morinda root before the loom, then weaves the cloth in mirrored halves with twined end borders. These nine carry an ancestor figure, a horse band and a skull tree through indigo warp, morinda red and mirrored band repeat. Ask for a different figure in the bands and the same three ikat styles carry it.

  • a fabric or wallpaper swatch
  • a textile design reference board
  • a cultural-studies handout
  • a home decor print
  • a weaving or sewing reference

Frequently asked questions

What size do these print at?
Each design is drawn as a seamless repeat at A3 proportions with an even margin, so it prints clean at A3 or scales to A4 or a fabric swatch.
Can I ask for a different figure in the bands?
Yes — the direction field takes any figure you name, and the same three ikat styles render it banded across the cloth.
What's the difference between the three styles?
The indigo-warp style keeps hinggi's deep blue ground; the morinda-red style shifts the dye to earthen red; the mirrored-band style leans into the woven symmetry between the cloth's two halves.
Is this respectful of real sumba ikat craft?
The set draws on East Sumba's warp-ikat weaving technique as a style reference for a generated print, not a reproduction of any specific weaver's or village's cloth, and not a claim to be hand-woven hinggi.

About toile

This page is a showcase and a starting point: nine samples already rendered, three readings of the pack crossed with three styles, each shown at the size and ratio it was made for. Take any of them further on the wall with a few words, or ask for all nine again under your own direction; a sign-in keeps what you make, and it is free while Toile is new. The recipe behind each sample — the subject, the style, the palette, the framing — travels with the image rather than staying private to the render: it is in the alt text of every sample and in the page's own structured data, so a search engine reads the same handles a person would.