Design Resource
Making of Sungudi Sari - Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Technique of Tie and Dye
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baraland Hariharasudan T.
Making Process
The saris woven are brought in for tie and dying. The design is marked on the sari by measuring and marking the design. The points are identified which are to be tied in the design. Artist holds the point with help of his fingernails and starts to wound the thread around that tightly enough to cover the cloth from getting dyed. Tying process takes anyway around 8-10 days for a single sari. Once the tying is done, it is checked for any damages.
The tied sari is taken for dying process, Dying is a little elaborate process and method followed is natural dying, where all dyes are obtained from herbs and plants.
The tied sari is soaked in water for ten minutes so that when color is added it spreads evenly to all places.
The soaked sari is washed using a soap nut powder to remove any stains in the sari. If required it can be soaked in warm water up to 20° centigrade to absorb more color.
Required color is measured and taken accordingly to number of saris to be dyed and added in the tub for dying. Initially the sari is rinsed by hand, a couple of times and then kept on the stove for heating the colored water for approximately 30mins.
Once the water reaches a temperature of 70°- 80° centigrade, 200ml of color retaining agent is added and again heated for another 15mins.
After cooling for some time, it is washed with soap nut water. At last it is washed in cold water and allowed to dry in shade. Once the sari is completely dried, the knots are removed to reveal the design pattern.
Flow Chart:
