Ikat cushion covers with hand made trim “jiyak”

We make Ikat cushion covers using fabrics from our own collection of ikat fabrics. Quite often we have some pieces of fabric left over. We feel it is wasteful and disrespectful to ikat weavers to throw away small pieces of ikat fabrics. By throwing those ikat pieces  away we would be throwing away their time (read: part of their lives).

This is why, to respect another soul’s work, we get extra creative with our ikat cushion covers. We mix leftover ikat fabrics with burlap coffee bean bags, linen, solid cotton and silk fabrics, even jeans fabric. We make sure we use natural fabrics to match organic nature of our Ikat fabrics. 

Seams connecting two fabrics could be left as they are, there is nothing wrong with them. However, since we have access to beautiful handmade trims we add extra exotic flavor to our products. That cotton handmade trim known as “Jiyak” in Uzbek becomes like a wedding ring uniting two different types of fabrics, romantically speaking.

We use jiyaks for our ikat cushion covers, however, more widely they are used as a trimming ribbon for hats and clothing. You can see this in photos following “To Dye For: Ikats from Central Asia” exhibition which featured fashion masterpieces of Oscar De La Renta made in 21st century and 19th century traditional ikat robes from Uzbekistan.

Ikat cushion covers with jiyak trim in our collection

Needless to say, we have very limited quantities of pillow covers, usually in a quantity of one and only. They are those one and only unique items which you will never find anywhere else.

Here is an example of a combination silk / cotton ikat fabric and a hand knit textile. The idea was to create a festive Christmas cushion cover to cuddle, to snuggle and to surround yourself with that magical Christmas cheer. For this, we ordered a knitter to hand knit a part of the cushion cover. The cushion cover closes with a concealed zipper on. a side and fits standard 16″ (20cm) square pillow inserts.