Tie dyeing in India

Among the many crafts we saw being made in India tie dyeing was one of my favourite. One of the things I like about it is that you never quite know what the end results will be and the moment when the threads used for the ties are pulled apart and the pattern is revealed is quite magical. At the workshop we went to, the owner showed us how the pattern of dots is transferred on to the fabric and then told us how each dot is pulled up into a spike and thread wound round it to form the resist for the dyeing process.

He showed us how he wound the thread round the spikes of fabric to create the ties, but he was working over a piece of fabric with spikes already tied on it. When I asked him how he made the original spikes he said he just pinches the fabric by hand to make them. I have seen similar techniques in Japan (see my Nov 2019 post) and there they either use a small hook to pull up the fabric or place the fabric over a nail to push up a spike of fabric. The Japanese technique seems more effective and quicker to me but we didn’t actually see the original spikes being made in India so it’s hard to tell.

Once all the ties have been made the fabric is dyed, further ties can then be made, as we were shown, and the piece dyed again to give a subtle colour to the fabric. There were some beautiful pieces in the workshop and the owners obviously experiment to produce interesting colourways and patterns, keeping the tradition alive and up to date.