Crossword Genius

Batik: the first cut, woven fabric of Asia (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ikat

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'fabric of asia' is the definition.
'ikat' can be an answer for 'fabric' (I've seen this before). I'm not sure about the 'of asia' bit.

'batik the first cut woven' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
'first' could be 'i' (I in Roman numerals eg Elizabeth I) and 'i' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ka' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ikat that I've seen before include "dyed fabric" , "Colourful fabric" , "Fabric from Indonesia" , "coloured fabric" , "Tie-dyed fabric" .)

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