From the 17th to the 20th century, neighboring tribes in central Africa united as the Kuba Kingdom. Traditional Kuba textiles are woven from raffia palm tree fiber. Historically, men cultivated the palms and wove strips of cloth, and women stitched the pieces together, dyed them and embellished them with bold geometric patterns. Hundreds of patterns exist to describe events, objects or places, as well as to honor the maker or the recipient.

In Guatemala, distinctive and colorful embroidery patterns adorn traditional clothing and accessories. An iconic example is the huipil (pronounced wee-peel), a loose-fitting blouse worn by many Indigenous women in Guatemala and around Central America. Traditionally, these garments were woven by hand on a backstrap loom and heavily decorated with embroidery, ribbons or other embellishments. The designs vary by region and according to the occasion.

Block printing has been used in India for thousands of years as a way to add pattern to textiles. To create designs, artisans dip carved wooden blocks into a dye or mordant and then press them directly onto fabric. Sometimes artisans use these blocks to apply a resist so that the inverse pattern will emerge after dyeing. Multiple blocks may be used to introduce additional colors, layer by layer.

Batik is a wax-resist dyeing technique that originated on the island of Java in Indonesia. An artist creates patterns by applying liquid wax, which repels dye, to fabric with a stamp or canting tool. Next, the fabric is dyed, and then the wax is removed. The process is repeated for each color. In Indonesia, batiks are often symbolic and meant to be worn by particular groups of people for specific occasions.

In Japan, hand-dyeing fabric with natural indigo is known as “aizome.” The deep color that results is sometimes called “Japan blue.” Unlike using synthetic indigo dyes, the aizome process requires significant skill and experience. After the laborious process of cultivating and processing indigo plants for a dye vat, an artist needs to soak cloth in the dye bath and then expose it to the air many times, until the desired shade of blue is finally obtained.

Alpacas are indigenous to the Peruvian Andes, and their soft fleece is central to the region’s rich textile history. Women and children in rural mountain villages spend much of their time tending alpacas, llamas and sheep — shearing their fleece once a year to weave at home or sell in bulk at the market. Alpaca fiber is prized around the world for its warmth and softness.

Ikat (pronounced EE-kaht) is the process of decorating textiles by tying and dyeing yarns before weaving them into cloth. Uzbekistan’s rich ikat tradition — characterized by its bold colors and abstract designs — has come to embody this iconic technique. Today, the ikat aesthetic inspires designers worldwide in creating everything from couture gowns to home goods.