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Buying hand block-printed fabric from India when you live abroad

The workshops that print the cloth sell it by the metre to Indian buyers. You can be one of them.

Yes — you can buy block-print fabric from Indian shops even if they do not deliver to your country. India Rabbit gives you a free delivery address in India. You order to that address as an ordinary domestic customer, we receive and hold the parcel free for 30 days, combine it with anything else you buy, and forward the lot to you.

Read in Français / 日本語 / العربية / Italiano / Nederlands / Svenska

En bref, en français : vous avez trouvé un tissu indien en block print, imprimé à la main à la planche de bois, chez un petit atelier de Jaipur, Sanganer ou Bagru qui ne livre qu’en Inde ? Commandez-le à votre adresse India Rabbit gratuite au Kerala, comme un client indien. Nous recevons le tissu, le photographions, le gardons gratuitement jusqu’à 30 jours et l’envoyons en France avec vos autres achats, en un seul colis. Les droits et la TVA à l’importation sont perçus séparément à l’arrivée.

日本語で：ジャイプール（サンガネール、バグルー）の小さな工房で見つけたインドのブロックプリント生地が、インド国内にしか発送されない場合でも大丈夫です。India Rabbit のケララ州の無料受取住所に、インドの顧客と同じように注文してください。生地を受け取って写真を撮り、最大30日間無料で保管し、ほかの買い物とまとめて一つの箱で日本へ転送します。輸入関税・消費税は到着時に別途かかります。

باختصار بالعربية: إذا وجدت أقمشة هندية مطبوعة يدويًا بالقوالب الخشبية لدى ورشة صغيرة في جايبور لا تشحن إلا داخل الهند، فاطلبها إلى عنوانك المجاني لدى India Rabbit في ولاية كيرالا كأي عميل هندي. نستلم القماش ونصوّره ونحتفظ به مجانًا حتى 30 يومًا، ثم نرسله إليك في السعودية أو الإمارات أو أي دولة خليجية مع باقي مشترياتك في شحنة واحدة. تُحصَّل الرسوم الجمركية بشكل منفصل عند الوصول.

In breve, in italiano: hai trovato tessuti indiani stampati a mano con blocchi di legno (block print) da un piccolo laboratorio di Jaipur, Sanganer o Bagru che spedisce solo in India? Ordinali al tuo indirizzo India Rabbit gratuito in Kerala, come un cliente indiano. Riceviamo i tessuti, li fotografiamo, li conserviamo gratis fino a 30 giorni e li spediamo in Italia insieme agli altri acquisti, in un unico pacco. Dazi e IVA all’importazione si pagano a parte all’arrivo.

In het kort, in het Nederlands: heb je Indiase stoffen met handgedrukte blokprint gevonden bij een kleine werkplaats in Jaipur, Sanganer of Bagru die alleen binnen India verzendt? Bestel ze op je gratis India Rabbit-adres in Kerala, net als een Indiase klant. Wij ontvangen de stoffen, maken er foto’s van, bewaren ze tot 30 dagen gratis en sturen ze samen met je andere aankopen in één pakket naar Nederland. Invoerrechten en btw worden bij aankomst apart geheven.

Kort på svenska: har du hittat indiska tyger med handtryckt blocktryck hos en liten verkstad i Jaipur, Sanganer eller Bagru som bara skickar inom Indien? Beställ dem till din kostnadsfria India Rabbit-adress i Kerala, precis som en indisk kund. Vi tar emot tygerna, fotograferar dem, förvarar dem gratis i upp till 30 dagar och skickar dem till Sverige tillsammans med dina andra köp i ett enda paket. Tull och importmoms tas ut separat vid ankomsten.

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Why this is hard to buy where you are

Hand block printing is done in a handful of places: Sanganer and Bagru on the edge of Jaipur, other villages across Rajasthan, and Ajrakh in Kutch. Much of it is sold by the metre by family workshops and small sellers who post within India, take domestic payment and have no reason to deal with an export. Abroad, the same cloth tends to reach you through a fabric shop at several times the price, or as a screen-printed copy of a block design. Sanganeri, Bagru and Kutch Ajrakh are all registered Geographical Indications, which is a fair measure of how specific to place the real thing is.

Where to buy it

Shop	What they are good for
iTokri	Hand block-printed cotton sold and priced by the metre, across Sanganeri, Bagru, Ajrakh, Bagh, Kalamkari, Akola and Pipad prints, with screen prints filtered separately so you know which one you are buying.
Okhai	A craft platform that carries hand block-printed fabric from partner artisan labels, including naturally dyed cotton and Ajrakh printers from Kutch.
Printers in Sanganer and Bagru	Many small workshops sell by the metre through Instagram and WhatsApp and post only within India. Your Indian address is all they need to send it.

Small printers rarely have an overseas checkout. A free Indian address turns your order into the domestic sale they already handle every day, and you can buy from several workshops and pay to ship once.

What to check before you order

Ask whether it is hand block or screen printed. Sellers who work with printers name the method, and the larger ones list screen prints separately. "Block print design" on its own usually means the design, not the method.
Look along the length. Hand blocks are stamped one at a time, so small shifts in alignment and colour between repeats are normal and are the evidence of the hand. Perfectly identical repeats across five metres point to a screen.
Know the names. Sanganeri is fine printing on white and off-white grounds, with small buta, buti and floral jaal. Bagru uses natural dyes, traditionally a black outline with red filling. Dabu is a mud-resist print, so the pattern is the undyed part. Ajrakh, from Kutch, uses mud and lime resists and is washed many times over as much as three weeks, which is why it costs more.
Check the width on the listing before working out how much to buy. Indian running fabric is often narrower than dressmaking fabric sold in Europe or the USA, so a pattern may need more length.
Buy a little extra if you are cutting to a pattern. Unwashed cotton shrinks on its first wash, and naturally dyed cloth can release some colour at first, so wash it on its own before you cut.

Weight, customs and getting it here intact

Weight

Very light. Printed cotton at a typical dress weight runs to roughly 110 to 160 g a metre at the usual widths, so five metres is well under a kilo and sits in the cheapest band. Heavier canvas, linen and quilt-weight cotton weigh more; the seller usually states the fabric.

Volume

Folded fabric is flat and dense, so volumetric weight almost never governs. We fold rather than roll unless you ask, because a roll costs space.

Customs

Fabric is ordinary goods almost everywhere; it is declared by description and value. A few metres for your own use usually carries a modest value, but duty and import tax rules are set by your country, not by us. Check what your destination allows.

Condition

Naturally dyed pieces are wrapped apart from pale cloth in case of colour transfer, and fabric is packed in a sealed bag against damp. Lengths from different sellers stay labelled so you know which is which.

Work out the exact cost to your country

Where we send it

Pick your country for transit times and customs notes.

Questions

I found a small Jaipur seller who only ships within India. How do I get five metres of block-print fabric to California?

Sign up free for an India Rabbit address in Kerala, give it to the seller as your delivery address and order as a domestic customer. We receive the fabric, photograph it, hold it free while anything else you order arrives, and forward everything to you in one box. Five metres of cotton weighs well under a kilo, which is the cheapest band, and the calculator gives the exact price to your ZIP code before you commit.

How can I tell hand block print from screen print?

Look along the length. A hand block is stamped repeat by repeat, so there are small shifts in alignment and colour between repeats. A screen print repeats identically. Ask the seller which method it is; sellers who work with printers will say.

Can you combine fabric from several printers into one parcel?

Yes. Order from as many sellers as you like to the same address. Each parcel is logged and photographed as it arrives, and when you are ready we pack everything into one box, so you pay the international rate once.

Is there a minimum length?

That is up to the seller, not us. Some sell from one metre, some in half-metre steps. We take whatever arrives.

Will the colour run?

Naturally dyed block prints can release some colour in the first wash. Wash a new length on its own, in cold water, before cutting or sewing it.

Order it like you live in Kerala

Your free Indian address takes a minute to set up and works on your very next order. We hold parcels free for 30 days so you can combine them into one box.

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