Friday 19 March 2010

Traditional Dabu Printing of India- Part 2



How to Get Black Motif

Black color is obtained with the help of "iron water". To prepare iron water, Take 25 kg Iron Scrap+ water + Baajre ka aata + 2 kg ( Gud- Jaggery) . Close the lid from the top and keep it aside for 15 days.






Take out the iron, boil the water and then cook with Tamarind seed flour to prepare the iron paste for mixing with Iron. ( Black Process- NO Dabu)

To Apply it, first prepare the fabric using myrobalan. Then apply the paste to the fabric using printing blocks to give deep black color


Indigo Dyed Dabu



First of all fabric is desized just like the previous process.

Then it is treated with Castor oil in water to increase its absorbancy.


Then the dabu printing is done just like the earlier process.

After that the fabric is dried and then the fabric is put into indigo pot

The pot  is very old and the water is never changed. New indigo is kept on adding in it. It is generally 10 feet deep. Hydrate of Lime ( Ca(OH)2) is added time to time to keep the potency intact.

Generally there are two vats; one has 50% indigo and the other has 100% indigo. At a time two thaans are taken. The than is taken folded and gradually all the layers are exposed.
After that it is dried into the sun.

Another two dippings and dryings in the sun are done to get a dark tone.
If one wants to have one design with light and the other as a dark tone, the after printing the fabric is dipped into 50% indigo first and then dried.
After that dabu printing is done with the second design and the fabric is dipped twice into 100% indigo pot. The first type of dabu retains its whiteness, whereas the second type of dabu will become slightly less blue.  


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