Baku’s Rag Books
Celebrating untold stories
Craft and Culture | Ethnographic Research | Storytelling | Publication
Baku’s Rag Book is an experimental publication crafted from discarded fabric scraps, woven together with narratives of laborers from Ahmedabad’s once-thriving cotton mills. The project highlights overlooked stories from the city’s textile era while demonstrating the creative potential of reusing textile waste.
A limited edition of 50 copies was screen-printed, with each copy rendered unique through the use of varied rag pieces. Individual screens were developed for every page, and the content was printed directly onto cloth that was carefully cut, pressed, and bound. Black ink was used for the text, while illustrations were printed in a contrasting color.
Process
Multiple screens were made corresponding to each page of the book.
It was further printed on rag fabric that was cut to size and ironed. While the text was printed in black, the illustration was printed using another color.
The book has a french fold bind to enhance the thickness of a single page and to prevent the cloth from having frayed edges.