VARIETIES OF TIED WORK
Tied on Itself.—Interesting effects may often be produced on long pieces of cloth, scarfs, and the like, by folding them over and tying them into knots at one or two selected places, before dyeing. Fig. [6] shows an example of this, (a) Tied and ready for dyeing; (b) Dyed and opened out. This when worked out in different colors, dyeing first, with some light color, then tying and dyeing with another color, or else coloring the tied and dyed piece with a second light bath of another color, gives very pleasant results as applied to draperies—as, for instance, simple costumes for pageants and out-of-doors plays. It is, however, almost, if not quite, impossible to obtain definite designs in this way, and it is hardly possible to duplicate results. But occasionally the process is useful.
Tied with String or Tape.—Far more important is the process generally meant by the term “tied and dyed work,” where the pattern is made by tying either thread, string, cord, or even tape, more or less tightly around special portions of the cloth. These portions are usually drawn out, or pressed out, or folded, so as to form a sort of loop around which the string can be tied. But occasionally the whole cloth, laid flat and with but little folding, is tied tightly across, so that the reserved part forms, when untied, a more or less straight band.
Tied in Bands.—It is often desirable to separate one part of a design from another by means of a broad line or band of white or light color. This can be readily done by tying a piece of strong twine or tape, tightly, right across the goods at the desired place before dyeing it. Quite elaborate and interesting effects can be produced in this way by first folding the cloth lengthways, and then tying a width of several inches with a broad piece of tape. If it is not tied too tight some of the color will work up and down the folds, under the tape, and give, when finished, curious wavy effects. (See Fig. [7].)
Tied in Small Loops.—This banding, though interesting and useful, differs from the sharp little round or diamond-shaped rings forming the patterns in the Rajput or Bagobo textiles. These are produced by pressing or pulling out the cloth into loops or bunches which are then tied tightly round and round with string or thread, the middle of the loop being usually left exposed to the dyestuff, so as to form a colored centre.
(a)—Tied and Ready for Dyeing
(b)—Dyed, Untied and Shaken Out
FIG. 6—SAMPLE OF TIED AND DYED WORK, “TIED ON ITSELF”
Very small loops can be made, as mentioned above, by pressing out the cloth with a wooden pin (or toothpick) and tying tightly around this, leaving in the pin until after the dyeing is completed.
Skilful workers can tie quite small loops by placing a bead, or dried pea, or piece of gravel in the cloth and tying the cloth tightly around this. It is best, always, to have something of the sort, pin or bead, to act as a centre, or else the knot, after tying, is very apt to slip off, and spoil the pattern.
The design for this sort of work should be carefully planned beforehand, and marked out on the cloth with pencil or chalk. For, with small loops like this, the interest is more in the pattern formed by them than in the changes and contrasts in color between the different tied parts and the rest of the cloth.
A very interesting specimen of work done in this way by Miss Mary Grey is shown in Fig. [7].
Tied in Large Knots and Loops.—It is hard for a Western craftsman to obtain sharp, well-defined knots by this method, of a diameter of less than half an inch or so. Usually, indeed, it is too much of a bother and nuisance to try any knots covering less than an inch and a half. From this size, up to fifteen and twenty inches in diameter, will be found the vast majority of all American work. The reason is very simple. The trouble of tying a knot covering five inches is very little more than that for a half-inch knot, indeed far less for most people, while the large knot produces an immediate effect not equalled by a dozen of the latter. Furthermore, with large knots, big bold designs can be produced, which, with pleasant and skilfully selected colors, give results far more striking and effective than can be shown by the small knots, no matter how carefully carried out. On the other hand, intricate and carefully planned designs can be worked out with small knots, which cannot be attempted with the large ones.
For designs with large knots, beside the cloth, which should be soft and free from dressing, and a ball of soft thick twine or better, of cheap cotton binding tape, half to three-quarters of an inch wide, it is well to have a supply of large glass beads, of marbles of different sizes, and, if these are not easy to get, of pebbles, beans, hazelnuts, and the like. These are not always to be used, but in most cases it makes a more interesting contrast to have the centre of the tied spot come out dark, with the lighter parts, more or less shaded, around it. That means that the centre must be exposed to the dyestuff by being stretched out over a marble or pebble, while the parts around it are tied up. And the tying, too, is greatly facilitated by having a hard centre to work against.
By tying around one marble first, and then putting in another and tying round that, a series of concentric rings will be formed, the black rings showing where the cloth, covering the marble, has been exposed, and the light-colored part showing where it has been covered by the tape or string.
FIG. 7—SAMPLE OF TIED AND DYED WORK, “TIED IN BANDS,” WITH INCIDENTAL KNOTS. BY MISS MARY GREY
As before, the design, if at all elaborate, should be marked out beforehand on the open cloth, and the parts tied in accordingly. Much experience is required to know just how tight to tie the tape so as to get a desired effect with each particular kind of cloth, and each class of dyestuffs. In general, with small knots the string should be tied very tight, or otherwise no effect is produced at all. The larger the tied parts, however, the more pains should be taken to have the cloth folded before tying, so that some of the color may work down through the folds past the tape, and thus produce shaded effects, which may be of great beauty (see Plate IV, Fig. [a]). Of course, in this, much depends on the cloth; a thick heavy calico tying with difficulty, but not letting the dyestuff soak through; while soft open materials like scrim or cheesecloth, for instance, must be tied much tighter, or the color will work through so much as to spoil the design.
The student is advised to practise, from the start, tying his tape with a slip loop, or at any rate a bow knot, and not with a fast square knot each time, so as to save trouble and bother when untying later. A skilful craftsman will tie quite a large piece of cloth, in an interesting and fairly complicated design, in a few minutes. But after dyeing, while the cloth is still wet, and the tape or string has shrunk, and the knots have tightened, it is often more trouble to untie, or cut it open, than it was to make it, and there is always the danger of cutting holes in it. A little pains in laying down one end of the tape, before starting to tie, so that, when the whole loop is tied up, the other end will come out alongside of the first so that it can be joined to it by a bow knot, will save any amount of time and vexation.
Sewed and Dyed Work.—Besides protecting the cloth from the action of the dyestuff by tying string or tape around it, the same effect can be produced by sewing up certain parts of it, before dyeing, and then, after the rest has been colored, and the loose dye-liquor washed off, the sewed-up parts can be opened and pressed into shape.
This modification of the process, so far as I can learn, is not practised by the Rajputs with their chundries, but in the Benedict collection can be seen some most extraordinary and elaborate pieces of dyed work made just in this way. The Japanese, also, have been in the habit of using this method, and sometimes they produce curious zigzag lines by taking coarse stitches across the cloth, alternately, first to one side and then to the other side of the centre line, and then drawing the thread tight. The needle is often used for borders—for straight lines can easily be made in soft materials (and such only should be used for tied work) by hemming the cloth with strong thread, and then drawing it up close and tight before putting it in the dye-bath. The development of this branch of the process, however, belongs properly to the fair sex.
FIG. 8—FOLDING THE CLOTH
| FIG. 9—STARTING TO TIE | FIG. 10—CENTRE PORTION TIED |
TIED AND DYED WORK
Dyeing Process.—Now for the dyeing process. Of course, for practise, the craftsman will use cotton as his raw material, in the form of muslin, cheesecloth, scrim, or best of all, light grades of mercerized cotton, and hence will use the various cotton dyestuffs. The Salt colors are hardly advisable, because though fast to light they are not all fast to washing unless well boiled on, and that means that, unless tied extremely fast and tight, the color would be bound to penetrate, and wipe out the design. The Sulphur colors and the Vat colors are the best for the purpose—for they can be dyed cold or lukewarm, without injuring the fastness of the dye, and give colors fast both to light and to washing. In general, it is easier to get even shades with the Sulphur colors, and their shades are soft and pleasing, but while fast, they are not as fast as the Vat dyes, and it is impossible to get a decent scarlet with them. The skilful dyer will, of course, select his class to suit the shade he is trying to get and also to meet the requirements about fastness. But, in general, he will use the Salt colors for covering and shading the patterns produced with either the Sulphur or the Vat dyes. When using the oxidation dyes, like the Sulphur or Vat colors, plenty of time must be given for the dyestuffs to oxidize and set before they are untied. But, on the other hand, directly they are once untied it is important to wash off the loose dye-liquor from the cloth, and especially from the tied-in portions, as soon as possible after untying, otherwise some dye-liquors that may have soaked in without having had a chance to oxidize, will, when exposed to air, suddenly fix themselves and obscure or ruin the pattern.
After attaining some skill in this process the craftsman is urged to try it on more important materials like silk. Most beautiful effects can be, and are being produced by this means, on soft delicate scarfs made of Chinese or Indian silks. The Acid colors are, of course, used for this, and as they take so readily on silk, the possibilities of shading and over-shading different portions of the design, or of adding a touch of color here and there where it seems desirable, offer infinite possibilities to an artistic workman. The combinations of color that can be produced are infinite, and the curious blending of regularity and irregularity, in the designs and figures, renders it a most attractive process to practise with.
One great attraction about it is the sense of suspense, and the impossibility of telling just what effect is being produced, until the knots are all untied, and the cloth washed off and opened out.
Another attraction is the feeling of working all the time in an unexplored or very partially explored country. There is the constant chance of obtaining at any moment effects never thought of before. The experimenter is always trying some new little trick in tying, or in folding, or in dyeing, the results of which can never be foreseen accurately, and which are always interesting and often very beautiful.
Tied and Discharged Work.—One day, in our laboratory, some experiments were made which resulted in a modification of this process which, so far as we know, was entirely new, and which presents very interesting possibilities, to say the least. We made the experiment of dyeing the cloth first, and then tying it up, and putting it in a bleaching solution, so as to discharge the color everywhere excepting where it was protected by the tying. The experiment was successful, resulting (see Plate IV, Fig. [b]), in a series of dark patterns on a light background. All kinds of modifications of this can be made. For instance, the cloth can be dyed with a mixture of two or three dyes, some of which are fast and the other or others can be discharged by the chemical used. The pattern thus will be the full mixed color, say brown, against a background of red or yellow or blue as the case may be.
| FIG. 11—CENTRE AND CORNERS TIED | FIG. 12—DYED, UNTIED AND SHAKEN OUT |
The important thing about this modification is to select the proper bleaching agent to act on the particular colors, and the particular kind of material, used. Our first experiments were with bleaching powder (chloride of lime), dissolved in water, say two tablespoonfuls to the gallon, with, if necessary, a few drops of acetic acid or weak sulphuric acid stirred into it. This powerful bleaching agent is very apt to attack the cloth, and only heavy materials, such as scrim or heavy calico should be used with it. But although so strong, it does not act at all readily on a large number of the dyestuffs, including many of the Vat colors. Some of these, like the Indanthrene colors, are not affected at all, Indigo is changed from blue to a brilliant shade of yellow. And Thio Indigo Red B produces curious shades of purple, settling, where exposed to the full action of the bleaching agent, to orange.
Later we repeated the experiments, using hydrosulphite of soda, say two tablespoonfuls to the gallon of warm water, as a discharge, with much better success. The cloth was not injured, even when delicate materials like silk and light poplins were used. And the great majority of colors, including nearly all the best Salt, Sulphur, and Acid dyes, reduced rapidly and well. The Vat dyes will reduce, and, in the presence of caustic soda, will dissolve out of the exposed cloth almost entirely, but it is hard to reduce them to white in this way. In every case the color, after reduction, must be washed at once in warm soap and water, or else, on exposure to the air, the color may come back to some extent, owing to oxidation.
A weak bath of hydrosulphite of soda, also, should always be on hand, in the former bleaching process; for, when bleaching powder (chloride of lime) or other chlorine compounds, such as Javelle water or Labarraque’s solution, are used for destroying the color, their further action can be stopped, and also the offensive smell removed, by dipping the bleached material into a so-called antichlor, like this hydrosulphite.
This subject of discharge is dealt with more at length in a future chapter.
(a) EXAMPLE OF TIED AND DYED WORK
(b) EXAMPLE OF TIED AND DISCHARGED WORK
PLATE IV.