The lingtse is a women's cape particular to the region of Zangskar, which is a part of Ladakh, on the edge of Kashmir and north of Himachal Pradesh, India. The capes are made of three panels of dyed fabric.
The fabric, called nambu, is handspun, handwoven sheep's wool, woven in twill and slightly fulled after weaving. The resist-dyeing process, known as thig-ma, uses a combination of natural and synthetic dyes. The roundels are made by wrapping the area while dyeing. An interesting detail is that the lighter lines in the weft are a different fiber (possibly a synthetic that resist the dye?) The resist-dyed roundels are made in between these lines, which shows that the cloth panels were woven with the lingtse design in mind. The fringes are also resist-dyed, and nicely knotted. This knotting varies slightly among different examples.
I was able to see some thig-ma in progress in 2006, in the village of Skurbuchan in western Ladakh. The lingtse are not made or worn in that region, but the resist-dye is used on belts and strips of fabric used for traditional shoes.
The thig-ma teacher shows other women how to tie and dye the woven wool, as they all gather on a rooftop to work together.
The wooden sticks in some of the bundles will emphasize the four-lobed shape within the circles.
Thig-ma belts dyed in Skurbuchan
I recently saw a dealer in the US who had several lingtse, in adult and child sizes. Children's caps use two panels of a shorter length. I've never seen them worn, and can only imagine the sight of a mother and daughter both in lingtse.
Saw a few in public in Ladakh - this one at the Tikse Monastery festival. The lingtse and hat identify the woman as a Zangskari.