Dyeing of Traditional and Handloom Textiles
This domain covers resist and patterning traditions - bandhani, batik, tie-dye and block printing - as practised on handloom cotton and silk. The exam asks for the sequence of operations, the resist mechanism and the faults that arise.
Bandhani
Cotton or silk is pinched at marked points and bound tightly with thread; dye cannot penetrate the bound knot, leaving a dot. Work proceeds from the lightest shade to the darkest, with retying between dips. Gujarat and Rajasthan are the classic centres. Fabric is pre-washed, marked with a design chart, tied, dyed, then boiled and the threads snapped off.
Batik
Molten wax (paraffin blended with beeswax) is applied with a brush or block; the wax resists cold dye. Cracks in the wax give the characteristic veining. Dye baths must stay cold or the wax melts and the resist fails. Wax is removed by boiling in water or by ironing between absorbent paper.
Tie-dye and leheriya
Folding, clamping, binding or stitching before dyeing: leheriya diagonal stripes from rolled and tied cloth, mothra checks from folding in both directions, spirals and marbles from radial ties.
Block printing
Hand-carved teak or pear-wood blocks, a padded table with a thick cloth and backing, and a dye paste thickened with guar gum or sodium alginate. Correct registration and even pressure give the repeat; pigment printing needs a binder and curing instead of steaming.
Worked example
A bandhani saree in three colours: pre-wash and dry, mark the design, tie all knots for the ground colour, dye the lightest shade, untie only the knots that must take the second colour, retie fresh areas, dye the mid shade, then finally dye the darkest ground, boil off and open the ties. Reasoning: light shades are always dyed first because a dark bath cannot be reversed.
Traps
- Waxy batik dyed in a hot bath - resist fails.
- Block printing paste too thin - bleeding; too thick - patchy coverage.
- Dyeing darkest first in bandhani.