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Design Resource
Bandhani
The craft of Tie and Dye
by
Process
1. The design is drawn on the tracing paper/ butter paper ( Gharwal sheet). The design is then Punched- marking the design using the needle.
2. The design is then traced by placing the butter sheet with punched motifs, on the fabric and rubbing fugitive ink on the tracing sheet using a brush. The ink passes through the punched holes on to the fabric. The fugitive ink is used only for tracing the designs and it is washable.
3. The fabric is then sent for tying, which is usually done by the women folk in their spare time. The tying is done using a metal nail (Nau), which acts as a false nail, a Glass Tube (Bhungari) and thread. The thread passes through the glass tube and helps in tightening the thread around the knot. The artisan with the help of nau raises the cloth and then holds a pinch of it and then ties the knot. This process of tying knots is repeated throughout the design at regular intervals.
4. Once the tying is done the fabric is washed in hot water to remove the fugitive ink and dried.
Before dying the fabric is soaked in Alum. Alum works as a mordant and helps in the colour absorption.
