Ajrakh is a style of block printing unique to the Thar Desert region. Like bandhani, the making of ajrakh is carried out by the mainly Muslim Khatri community, though it does now employ some members of the Harijan community. It is thought to have originated in the twelfth century and was mainly produced in Jaiselmer, Rajasthan. Now production is almost entirely confined to the villages of Barmer in Rajasthan, and Dhamadka and Khavda in Kutch. The best quality ajrakh is produced in Kutch.
The most well known type of ajrakh is cloth with floral type geometric designs in the colours of indigo blue, deep red and black. Traditionally it is worn exclusively by men as a lungi, safa (turban) and shoulder cloth.

The colour blue is meant to have the property of keeping warm in the winter and cool in the summer, a necessity in this semi-desert region (O.D.C.H., 1987). Social taboos connected with the use of indigo have however meant that most Hindus, other than Harihans, would not wear ajrakh. For this reason, traditionally it is only worn by Muslims, Meghwals (a Harijan community) and Ahirs (cattle herders). However, a large number of those from these communities still wear ajrakh as everyday attire. This means that the local market is still substantial.

Varadarajan, (1983) believes that there is a definite relationship between traditional ajrakh design and Sufi symbolism, though this awareness is absent in present craftspeople. However Bilgrami (1990) states that many of the motifs predate Islam. More recently, designs from other traditions have also been used for ajrakh.

The craftspeople today each have a large range of different motifs and patterns which are kept in the family and passed down from father to son. These motifs have particular names which relate to their symbolism such as Dabul (jewel box), badam (almond) and chap (block). The motifs are arranged and combined with borders and other motifs to form the whole design.

The traditional process of printing ajrakh is fairly complicated and involves many stages. The printing involves many wooden blocks which have to be placed accurately to register with the imprint of other blocks. True ajrakh also involves a complex dying process as it uses natural dyes. However most craftspeople are now using synthetic dyes which means that the process is similar to that of other resist block printing.

For the natural dying process, the cloth is first de-starched using a mixture of sodium carbonate, castor oil and fresh dung. It is then thoroughly washed in running water. The cloth is dipped in myrobalam (harde) solution which is derived from a local fruit. The tannin in the myrobalam allows better absorbtion of alizarine dye and reacts with the iron acetate dye to give black. The cloth is then ready for the printing process.

It is laid out on a padded bench and is printed with a resist solution using wooden blocks in which the desired pattern has been carved. The blocks are used to repeat the pattern to fill the appropriate part of the cloth. A plain kariyanu resist made from gum (from the babul tree), lime and water is used for areas which are to remain white. Where a black colour is required a mordant and resist (kat) is combined. This is made from iron acetate and gum substances. On contact with the cloth and the myrobalam, the iron acetate oxidizes and becomes black. Where a red colour is required, a combined alum mordant and resist is printed onto the cloth. The mordant part of the compound penetrates the cloth, while the gum and lime dries to act as a resist to other dyes.

If the design is to appear on both sides (bipura printing), another set of blocks must be carefully used to print on the other side of the cloth in a registered mirror image. The areas printed with the alum resist paste are then sprinkled with powdered dung and the cloth is dried in the sun for two days.

The next stage is the indigo dying. This is done in a cold vat of fermented indigo. The portions not covered with resist absorb the blue colour which becomes the background colour. While still wet, the cloth is then washed in flowing water to remove the resist, being careful not to smear the mordant. The degummed cloth is then put in a pot containing a solution of alizarine (derived from the saranguy and other alizarine bearing plant) and padvas flowers (Tamerica Indian) and simmered on a fire for two hours. This reacts with the alum to give red and fixes the black. Finally the cloth is washed several times and dried.