Black & White Block Print Katan Silk Suit | Bagiya

White vines run edge to edge across deep black silk, with a contrast dupatta.

• Colour-fast - the black does not bleed on the first wash.


• Opaque enough to wear without a lining, though one can be added to lift the look.


• The vine repeat covers the top edge to edge, with the panelled border saved for the dupatta.

The print

Every leaf and vine here was stamped by hand with a carved wooden block, one impression at a time. Follow the repeat closely and you will find a place where the outline sits a hair off register, or where the black has printed a shade heavier. That small unevenness is how genuine hand block work announces itself, and it is the one thing a screen or machine print cannot imitate.

The silk

Katan silk gives this piece its quiet sheen and enough body to fall in a clean line rather than cling. The fabric is opaque, so no lining is needed, though adding one will formalise the finish. All three pieces together weigh only 600 to 650 grams, so it carries light and wears light through a long day.

Wearing it

Black and white is the easiest palette in a wardrobe to accessorise - oxidised silver or a single strand of pearls, and the print does the rest. It reads sober enough for the office and sharp enough for an evening dinner. If you have been weighing a hand block cotton suit against a woven silk one, this sits in the gap between them: genuine hand block craft on silk, at a price well below a premium Banarasi set.

The set

• 
  Top: 2.5 metres, 44 to 45 inches wide


• 
  Bottom: 2.5 metres, 44 to 45 inches wide


• 
  Dupatta: 2.5 metres, 35 to 36 inches wide


• 
  Weight: 600 to 650 grams for top, bottom and dupatta together


• 
  Stitching: can be stitched up to 4XL, with length customised


• 
  Care: dry clean the first wash, then a gentle cold hand wash


• 
  Craft: hand block printed with hand-carved wooden blocks

Hand block printed in Bhagalpur and dispatched the next working day.

Because each length is printed by hand, no two pieces align exactly - the small shifts in the repeat are the maker's mark, not a fault.

In the printing sheds of Bhagalpur, a length of Katan silk is smoothed flat along a padded table that runs the length of the room. The printer works from one end to the other, lifting a hand-carved wooden block, pressing it into the dye tray, then bringing it down onto the silk with the flat of his hand - a sound like a slow heartbeat, repeated a few thousand times before a single suit length is finished. He carries the repeat in his eye rather than on a guide, which is why the vines on this black length lean and gather in a way no two lengths ever share. Bhagalpur has worked silk for generations, and this way of printing it - by hand, block by block - is the part of that inheritance that cannot be mechanised without being lost.

Exchange: *Easy exchange is available within 3 days of receiving the product.
*No exchanges on home decor items.
*Unboxing video is required.

Return: *Only for damaged/wrong products.
*Unboxing video required.
Learn More

1. Will the black bleed or run when I wash it?
No. The fabric is colour-fast and does not bleed on the first wash, so the white in the print stays white. Give it a dry clean for the first wash, and after that a gentle cold hand wash is all it needs.

2. How can I tell this is genuinely hand block printed and not a machine print?
Look along the repeat. Hand block printing leaves small irregularities - an outline slightly off register, one impression a shade deeper than the next - because each stamp is placed by hand with a carved wooden block. A screen or machine print repeats identically every time. This suit is printed entirely by hand in Bhagalpur.

3. What comes in the set?
Three unstitched pieces: a top of 2.5 metres at 44 to 45 inches wide, a bottom of 2.5 metres at 44 to 45 inches wide, and a dupatta of 2.5 metres at 35 to 36 inches wide. Nothing is stitched, so your tailor can cut the silhouette you actually want.

4. Is there enough fabric for a larger size?
Yes. The set can be stitched up to 4XL for a straight kurta set, and the length can be customised for larger sizes. The 2.5 metres on each piece gives your tailor room to work.

5. Does this suit need a lining?
No. The fabric is opaque and can be stitched without a lining. You can still add one if you want a heavier fall and a more formal finish, but it is a choice rather than a necessity.

6. What if the shade or the quality is not what I hoped for?
An exchange is available if the shade or quality is not loved. Screens do render black and white differently, so if the piece does not look the way you pictured it when it arrives, write to us and we will exchange it.