Lac is an animal resin secreted by the lac insect (Lacifer lacca; Coccus lacca) that feeds on a variety of host trees of which the important ones are palash (Butea monosperma) , ber (Zizyphus mauritiana) and kusum (Schleichera oleosa). It is a popular source of red dye. Also known as stick lac.

Red mordant dye obtained from insects of the Kerria family (mainly Kerria lacca Kerr), found in Asia. They also create a resinous secretion from which shellac varnish is made.

A general term for an open, usually finely worked fabric. See also crochet lace, bobbin lace.

Skein of threads or wool.

Lacquer is a vegetable oleo-resin which naturally exists in a liquid state, and is either directly applied by a brush or is thickened by ashes into a plastic material that may be moulded and, while still adhesive, can be applied to surfaces in bass-relief ornamentation. The various uses of this substance have originated with the Burmese and Siamese art that more closely resembles Japanese lacquer than Indian lac-work.

In this technique of painting on rounded wooden surfaces, lac is applied onto the surface of wood using friction-generated heat created by the rotatory movement of a lathe or kharand. Shellac or purified lac are used as bases into which mineral colour pigments are mixed and moulded into cubes of coloured lac called battis. The surface of the wooden object is first smoothened so that cracks and pores may be filled in. A batti of the required colour is pressed onto it while it revolves on the lathe. The heat generated as a consequence causes the lac to melt and spread over the wooden object. When the colour is uniformly coated all over, rag dipped in oil of kevda leaves (Pandanns odoratissimus) dipped in groundnut oil is pressed against the turning object so as to polish the lac till it acquires a permanent shine.

Lacware is, often, wrongly equated with lacquer ware as lac is an animal resin, while lacquer, on the other hand, is a vegetable oleo-resin which naturally exists in a liquid state.

Wave motif in the painted pottery of Kutch, Gujarat.

Wave.

A wild grass which folds in on being touched.

Hindu goddess of wealth.

Low work.

Mud resist, block printed, red fabric used by Lambanis.

Loin cloth in North India.

Specially woven fabric which is wound about eight or ten times round the central pressure bowl of a textile printing machine to ensure resilience.

A pattern with horizontal rows.

A general term for ikat resist dyeing which involves the repeated opening or tying off of different sections of the threads during the dye process. See also over-dyeing.

Ankle-length heavily pleated skirt in North India.

Leheria, literally wavy, refers to the wavy pattern of a fabric processed in the tie-dyed technique. The material is rolled diagonally and certain portions "resisted" by lightly binding threads at a short distance from one another before the cloth is dyed. The shorter the distance, the greater the skill required in preventing one colour from spilling into the other. The process of dyeing is repeated until the requisite number of colours is obtained. This is practised very effectively in Rajasthan.

Lit. waves. A resist-dyeing technique, which results in a multi-striped or chequered, multicoloured patterning, this technique is practiced in Rajasthan.

A Kantha quilted covering made from old saris/dhotis/lungis in Bangladesh; sometimes made in certain districts from sheet cloth.

Stool-like cylindrical platform used my Manipuri potter women for fashioning their pots.

The printing of type of illustrations from and image raised in relief; the surface is inked before being pressed on paper.

Holbein stitch; patterns made using this stitch in Kantha.

Lik pattern resembling waves in Kantha.

The Holbein stitch in Kantha.

Lik pattern resembling a flower; known also as shaita phul in Rajshahi, anarasi in Jessore in Kantha.

An elongated version of the lik pattern in Kantha.

Phallic emblem of Shiva.

Sacred phallic emblem of the god Shiva. usually standing in the yoni, or female organ.

The joining and substitution of different coloured threads into the basic warp where a change of pattern colour in the ground weave of a warp-faced textile is desired.

A steel blade positioned at the back of an engraved roller-printing machine to scrape off any fluff after printing.

White wash.

Printing (now rarely used directly on to fabric) from pigment colour adhering to a mixed-wax printed pattern on the level surface-as distinct from intaglio or relief images.

Nearly 1 3/4 pints.

The process of separating a soluble substance from an insoluble by the percolation of water.

A term often used in old dye books, water impregnated with alkaline salts extracted by lixiviation from wood ashes.

Apportioned.

Iron.

Hindu merchant caste of Sind and Kutch.

Blacksmith.

The wave like stitch in nakshi kantha, typical of Rajshahi district; a mutation of the Persian word ’lehr’, which means wave; but also applies to other kanthas using the thick, close running stitch associated with this type of kantha.

A device, the invention of which greatly increased the speed at which cloth could be made of spun yarns. The loom used for weaving contains a means of lifting selected warp yarns above other warp yarns, forming a space called a shed through which the weft is passed. Such devices cannot function unless the warp is under tension, so all looms also contain in means for stretching the warp. There are many different method of stretching the warp and of forming sheds, ranging from the very simple to the very complex.

A technique using a single element or yarn in which the free end and full length of the yarn is pulled through previous work at the edge of a fabric to form each new loop. The element crosses over itself in proceeding to make the next loop.
Looping is an ancient technique that existed before the demonstration of fiber sources and the invention of the loom. The technique is still practised in areas with less European influences such as the Amazon rainforest and New Guinea. Frequently, long plant fibers are used that can be twisted into yarn as the work proceeds.

The most versatile of all Indian metal pots which derives its basic shape from the gourd.

Terracotta pot used for milk and curd in Gujarat.

Large and small pots in Gujarat.

A measurement of cloth 120 yards long. Also known as a ‘piece’.

Man’s sarong-like unstitched garment length of fabric worn from the waist downwards.

A man’s sewn or unsewn lower body drape - sarong-type garment- tucked around the body to hang from waist to ankle. used in various parts of the subcontinent. It has regional names such as lacha in Punjab.

Any strong alkaline solution, especially one used for the purpose of washing such as soda lye, soap lye.