Here, the yarn is first tied in portions, and each section is dyed in a different color according to the design. When woven, the designs emerge, and the special feature is that the design is prominent on both sides of the fabric. This is a very complicated process and it is rather amazing to find that the traditional weavers do not use any graphic designs on paper. The common motifs are borrowed from nature. Flowers, creepers, birds, animals are abundantly woven in myriad colors, all lending a distinct feature to the nine yards of woven wonder.
Traditionally, craftsman created Baandhas with images of flora and fauna or with geometrical patterns. Most recently, new types of Baandha depicting portrait, landscape and flower pods are in vogue.
Bandha fabric is created using a tie-dye technique. The yarns are tied according to the desired patterns to prevent absorption of dyes, and then dyed. The yarns or set of yarns so produced is called ’Baandha’. The unique feature of this form of designing is that the designs get reflected almost identically on both side of the fabric. This versatile technique enables a craftsman to weave colourful designs, patterns and images into a fabric capable of inspiring a thought or convey a message. Thus Baandha can be defined as "A length of systematically arranged yarn, dyed according to a preconceived design in such a manner so as to enable a weaver to portray the design when the yarn is converted to a fabric through the process of weaving". It is believed that this art came to Western Orissa along with the Bhulia community who fled Northern India in the year 1192AD after the fall of the Chouhan Empire at the hands of the Mughals. Since then up to the year 1925 it flourished in Western Orissa in a limited number of designs and in vegetable colours and consisted mostly of saris used by the womenfolk of the Kosal region. These saris were known as ’Bhulia-Kapta’.
Ikat or Bandha of Orissa has gloriously woven, blurred, and gem-coloured motifs in silk and cotton. The dominant motifs in this craft include animals and birds, with the traditional designs being fish and conch shell as well as bolmala, chandankora, and sachipar. As the design-type is single ikat, the designs on the material are blurred";" however, this trace-design has a beauty all its own.
The intricate process involves tie and dye --- knotting sections of the yarn before dipping them in colours one at a time, and finally weaving them to produce motifs in multi-hued tones. While Sambalpur is famous for its double-ikat textiles, Sonepur is known for its gold embroidered ones.