What is ombre fabric? Shaded colour explained

Dip-dyed, printed or woven

There are three common ways to make shaded cloth, and they look and behave differently.

• Dip-dyed: the cloth is lowered into a dye bath in stages, or held at different depths for different times, so colour soaks in deepest at one end. The blend is soft and slightly irregular, both faces are coloured, and no two pieces are quite alike. Hand-dyed shading can release some colour at first, so a colour-fastness test is worthwhile.
• Printed: a digital or screen print reproduces the gradient. It can be perfectly smooth and repeatable and can combine shading with a pattern, but the back is often paler. Our guide to print methods explains why.
• Woven: occasionally the shading is built from yarns in graded colours, as in some shaded stripes, so the colour runs right through the thread.

Why the shade direction limits cutting

Every pattern piece has to respect the gradient. If the shade runs along the length, a kameez front and back must come from the same zone so they meet evenly at the side seams, and sleeves need to pick up the shade at a matching point. If it runs across the width, the deepest colour sits along one edge, which suits a hem but leaves little choice about where it goes. In practice that means:

• Deciding where the deep colour lands: dark at the hem grounds an outfit, while dark at the shoulders draws the eye up. Choose before cutting.
• Matching pieces: front, back and sleeves need cloth from matching parts of the gradient, which can use more fabric than a plain suit.
• Keeping the cut simple: a straight kameez shows the gradient most smoothly, while panels and gathers break it into bands.
• Living with the length: if the gradient spans the full kameez, shortening it later trims part of the shading away.
• Checking quantity first: see checking you have enough fabric before you post anything.

Shaded dupattas and what to pair them with

A shaded dupatta usually runs end to end, or from one long edge to the other. Take the plain kameez or trouser colour from one end of the gradient for a tonal outfit, or from the middle for a softer match. Our guide to matching dupatta and trouser colours has more ideas. Colour names and screens vary, so share a daylight photo when you ask for a match. Shading also pairs well with texture: a tie-dyed chunri dupatta is the dotted cousin of ombre and is sometimes dyed in shaded bands too.

Ordering with ombre fabric

For Stitching Only, photograph the whole length laid flat in daylight so the gradient shows, and say where you want the deepest colour; we confirm that the layout works and that there is enough fabric before you post it. If you want a shaded outfit made from fabric we supply, describe it on the quote form and we confirm what is possible in writing.