Almost everything sold as “Jaipur block print” traces back to one of two nearby printing centres: Sanganer, just south of the city, and Bagru, about 30 km to the west. They use the same tool — a hand-carved teak block — and produce visibly different cloth.
Sanganeri
Sanganeri printing is the fine one. Its signature is delicate floral work — small repeating flowers, trailing vines, buti motifs — printed on a white or very pale ground, in clear colours. The detail is high and the outlines are crisp, which historically suited fine cotton and muslin for clothing.
- White or off-white background
- Small, dense, precise floral repeats
- Bright, clean colour
- Reads light and formal
Bagru
Bagru is the earthy one, and its defining technique is dabu — a mud-resist. A paste of clay, gum and other ingredients is printed onto the cloth with a block; wherever the paste sits, dye cannot penetrate. The cloth is dyed, the resist is washed away, and the protected areas stay pale. Building a multi-colour Bagru print means repeating that resist-and-dye cycle more than once.
Bagru cloth is also traditionally pre-treated with harda, which gives the characteristic beige, khaki or cream ground rather than a bright white one, and its palette leans on natural dye colours — madder red, indigo blue, iron black.
- Beige, khaki or cream background
- Bolder, more geometric or stylised motifs
- Earthy reds, blacks and indigos
- Reads rustic and hand-made
Telling them apart
| Sanganeri | Bagru | |
|---|---|---|
| Background | White or pale | Beige, khaki, cream |
| Method | Direct printing | Often dabu mud-resist |
| Motifs | Fine florals, vines, buti | Bolder, geometric, stylised |
| Palette | Bright and clear | Madder, indigo, iron black |
The quickest test is the background. If the ground is white and the flowers are small and fine, you are almost certainly looking at Sanganeri work. If the ground is a warm beige and the motifs are bolder, it is Bagru.
Which to choose
Neither is better; they furnish differently. Sanganeri suits light, formal rooms and summer clothing — its white ground keeps a space feeling airy. Bagru suits rooms with wood, terracotta and natural textures, and it hides everyday use better than a white ground does.
You can see both traditions across our hand block printed fabric sold by the yard, and in finished pieces throughout the block print furnishing range. More on how we work in manufacturing, and on buying at volume on the wholesale page.