The technique of bundle dyeing, wich is also known as contact dyeing technique or eco print, is for me one of the most surprising and exciting, since even using the same dyeing materials (leaves, seeds, flowers…) the results we get are different. It’s very difficult to get two identical garments using this technique and this is what makes it so interesting.
Procedure of the technique:
To begin with, a fabric is chosen (pre-mordanted, I will tell you more about the mordants another time), and on it , we put the materials , wich can be leaves, plants, flowers, roots of some plants, seeds, trunk bark of some trees, (may be fresh or dried)… placing them in the way we like, this will influence the result. Then we roll the fabric and tie it well so that the dye materials that we have put on does not spill out. I like to tie it with 100% cotton cord and reuse it , or with biodegradable burlap cort and also try to reuse it.
Then we put the bundles in steam, using a cooking steamer (wich we will only use to dye). Sometimes I put them directly in water to get different designs, more blurred. I usually leave them for about two hours, but it depends on how the process goes , it is also a bit intuitive. After that, we let them cool and we can unroll them… my favorite part!.
I like this technique so much because the whole process , from the choice of fabric that we will use , the elements (leaves, flowers, plants…) placing them on the fabric… It beomes a very creative process where thousands of ideas arise. I imagine the design that will result , the combination of colors , the shapes drawn on the fabric…
But the best thing, after the wait, is to unroll and see if the idea I had about the result is true or I’m surprised with something totally different than expected. It’s incredible the degree of unpredictability of this process, how within the expected results varied.
This is what makes the difference in each product , gives them character and exclusivity , they all have a special charm and of course, they are unrepeatable!.