The History of Bandanas: Prints and Patterns to 1800

in Mar 19, 2025

In this series, we will be exploring different aspects of the history of bandanas: evolution of prints and production, the rise of US manufacturing, and its social, political, and cultural influence. We are starting with the early history and evolution of bandana styles.

Bandanas are inextricably linked with American history, conjuring up images of cowboys, robbers, and rednecks. Having now evolved into a staple of workwear and sportswear wardrobes, it’s easy to overlook this somewhat simple accessory. However, bandanas not only have a global history, they have been the forefront of social and political symbolism throughout American history. 

Part 1: From India to the Americas

Development of production, techniques and motifs

Bandanas, as we know them today, originated in India. By the 18th century there was a thriving export trade to Europe through the Dutch East India Company, and these early textiles were developed specifically for export. Different regions in India produced different varieties of handkerchiefs, and the popularity of certain designs evolved and shifted over time. Some elements are still retained in classic bandana motifs we see today. 

In the 18th century, hand-painted and dyed chintz motifs were popular, particularly in France. These were usually made of cotton in the Pulikat region of India, becoming colloquially known as "pulikats".

Reversible handkerchief of mordant-dyed and resist-dyed cotton chintz, Coromandel Coast, 18th century. Accession # IS.166-1950, Victoria and Albert Museum. 

While we can see some similarity in the elements of design between early "Pulikats" and modern bandanas, most of the patterns that we now associate with a classic bandana were made in Murshidabad. Murishidabad is famous for producing silk, and these early bandanas were generally made of a lightweight kora silk, plain-weave or twilled.

There were two main methods for creating designs on these early examples. The first technique used tie-dye to create simple, geometric patterns as the images below. This technique would be called bandana (from Hindi bandhana: 'to tie'). The most common colors for these tie-dyed bandanas were indigo blue, red, chocolate brown, and yellow. 

 

Handkerchief, Indian (Andhra Pradesh).18th or 19th century. MFA Boston, Accession Number 34.126

Daguerreotype of a Man in a tie dye bandana (similar to the example shown above), 1850s. Accession #URI 1952.99.115. Image via University of Rhode Island textile collection 

  Detail of an indigo-dyed resist -printed silk, Murshidabad, West Bengal, c. 1867;  Accession #4909(IS), Victoria and Albert Museum. 

The second technique for patterning was block printing. The designs were made by carving the designs onto pieces of wood, making a wooden printing block. These were generally found in floral designs (called "choppa" bandanas, from Hindi chhapna: 'to print'). Block printed styles could be stamped with a thickened ink to create black and red patterns on cream fabric ground, like the examples below. 

19th century block printed "choppa" bandana, Image via Cora Ginsburg LLC
 
1830-40 34" square block printed silk bandana. Object #1983.085.006, Goldstein Museum of Art.  

Example of a wooden print block for textiles, from Spurlock Museum of World Cultures.

A later development was discharge printing, which became an iconic bandana printing technique (and one that Sable loves to use!). Discharge printing was developed and used on indigo-dyed fabric starting in the late 18th century. This style of printing uses a chemical bleach to remove areas of dye and create finer patterns. Early examples of discharge printing were done using block or copperplate printing (in contrast to modern examples, which use either roller printing or screen printing).  The four examples below illustrate this style printing using each different image transferring technique: 

Length of discharge printed cotton, block printed, on indigo ground, manufactured in France, c. 1810-20. Accession # 1976-65-5, Cooper Hewitt.

Length of discharge printed cotton, copperplate, on indigo ground, manufactured by Bromley Hall (England), c. 1790. Accession # 1960-79-20, Cooper Hewitt.

Discharge printed cotton bandana, engraved roller, manufactured by Elephant Brand (USA), mid-20th century. Accession # 1986-40-14, Cooper Hewitt.


Discharge printed cotton bandana, screen print, manufactured by Sable New York (USA), 2024. 


American-made Bandanas

There were only 14 textile printers in America prior to 1775, 9 in Boston and 5 in Philadelphia. However, by 1810, Philadelphia was a hub of calico printing. It's here we find some of the earliest American made examples of handkerchiefs and bandanas. 

The below example, printed in two shades of red, was likely made by John Hewson in Philadelphia c. 1775 - 1800. A skilled block printer that trained in England, Hewson immigrated to the colonies to take advantage of the emerging textile market there. His involvement in the patriot cause during the revolution supports the case that this bandana is his work. 

Anecdotally, this was commissioned by Martha Washington after she visited the calico printer. The popularity of this handkerchief led to a proliferation of political propaganda themes in American bandanas into the 20th century.  

Handkerchief depicting George Washington, attributed to John Hewson, Philadelphia, c.1775-1785. 30" square. Object #  1965.0010 A, Winterthur Museum.

Handkerchief depicting George Washington, attributed to John Hewson, Philidelphia, c.1806. Reference # 1952.564, Art Institute of Chicago. 

Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks Bandanna, 1884, by S.H. Greene & Sons (Rhode Island). 20 in x 20 in, printed cotton. Yale University Art Gallery Collection, Accession #2001.92.6.
"I Like Ike" Dwight D. Eisenhower presidential campaign bandana, 1952. 

Relevant timeline of events in US textile manufacturing
1670s - First print works set up in Europe
1712 - First printing manufacturing set up by George Leason in Boston, MA
1750 - First linen weaving factory set up in Boston
1752 - Copperplate printing invented by Francis Nixon in Dublin, Ireland
1793 - First large-scale cotton yarn manufacture, engineered by Samuel Slater in Rhode Island
1806 - Discharge printing first used in the United States. 
1810 - First use of roller printed cotton in the US
1813 - First American-built power loom set up in Massachusetts

Sources

Pettit, Florence  H. America’s Printed & Painted Fabrics. New York, NY: Hastings House, 1970.

Montgomery, Florence M. Printed textiles: English and American Cottons and linens 1700-1850. New York: Viking Press, 1970.

Murphy, Veronica, and Rosemary Crill. Tie-dyed textiles of India: Tradition and trade. New York, London: Rizzoli ; in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum and Grantha Corp., Middletown, N.J, 1991.

Bean, Susan S. “Bandanna: On the Indian Origins of an All-American Textile.” Textiles in Early New England: Design, Production, and Consumption, 1997, 168–83.