Sections of neighboring strands on each frame are then bound together using lengths of raffia. The length of each knot seals a section of thread and the pattern of knots forms the intended motif. Each binding is tight enough to resist the dyes into which the threads are placed. In Indonesian and Malay ikat means to knot. Two sets of knots are used to produce the three-color design.
All knots resist the initial indigo dye and only unknotted areas become blue.
Opening the second set of knots reveals sections of thread that have received neither dye and will be yellow in the woven textile. The initial eggshell-yellow is from kemiri nut oil. Indigo blue is an aqueous solution of the young leaves of the leguminous indigofera tinctoria plant. The bark of the roots of the morinda citrifolia tree are used to form a red dye which is also aqueous. Dye lots are stored for many years while waiting for these colors to mature.