Tie-Dye Fabric Design - Coursework Example

Tie-Dye Fabric Design Number Department Tie-Dye Fabric Design Tie-dye is a contemporary term created in the 1960s by United States’ fabric designers for certain medieval resist-dyeing methods, and for the fabrics developed using these processes. The procedure of tie-dye essentially comprises of folding, winding, tucking, or crumpling cloth and tying with cords or rubber bands, before the fabric is dyed to produce some controlled application of color. The tying of the cloth before applying the dye(s) is called creating resists, which partially or totally block the applied dye from reaching some parts of the fabric. More complex tie-dyes encompass additional measures, including a first application of paint before the resist, followed by several sequential paints and resist measures to produce irregular patterns. Yet, the employment of other kinds of resists such as stitching, stencil patterns and discharge can also be used to produce the best outcomes. History of Tie-dye The very first surviving materials pointing to the use of tie-dye in the pre-Columbian society, currently Peru can be traced back to 500 to 810 AD (Dale, 2013). The patterns on the fabrics encompass tiny rings and lines, with primary colors including bright red, yellow, green and blue standing out. In the contemporary world, the use of complex resist-dyeing methods, and the employment of bright, primary colors and clear patterns continue to stand out. Kimbrough (2012) indicated that these patterns, encompassing the spiral, mandala, and symbols of objects, and multiple clear colors, have become outdated since the 1960s and 1970s when the tie-dye style became very popular in the world. Most of the current fabrics designed in this way, are produced in bulk for distribution and making smaller clothes across the world. Nonetheless, a new fashion of more complex tie-dye is developing in the fashion industry, which is slowly witnessing the growing preference for simple motifs, homochromatic color patterns, and a focus on stylish garments. In addition, the design has deviate from the conventional crease-prone cotton. Dale (2013) noted that in the wake of the evolution of tie-dye designs, a few designers continue to use the method of design as a form of art rather than as a product. The Design Process Tie-dye witnesses the use of a number of paints including; household brands, fiber sensitive, acid, and vat. During and shortly after the mid-20th century, tie-dyes were developed using retail household paints, especially those developed by Rit. Kimbrough (2012) noted that for designers to develop effective dyes that can be applicable on specific types of fibers, these paints are oftentimes developed from several similar dyes, and thus are less likely to fade. This is the premise for avoiding the popular pink socks factor or fading that takes place when clothes painted with an array of colors are soaked together with other clothes prior to or during washing. Throughout history, designers have upped their game, with their focus shifting to Procion MX fiber sensitive paints. These are a category of dyes for best use on cellulose fabrics such as those made of cotton, hemp, and linen among others (Dale, 2013). This category of paints for use in tie-dye reacts with fabrics at acidic conditions, creating a wash-fast, lasting bond with the fibers. Soda ash, rich in sodium carbonate, helps designers to raise the acidic nature of the dyes lasting effects. The substance may be added straight to the paint or dissolved in water in which the clothes set for designing are dipped immediately before dying. Procion paints are fairly safe for designers and the environment. Besides, they are easy to use and achieve the best outcomes on cellulosic fabrics during tie-dye. Protein-based fabrics that originate from animal products such as wool, feathers, and silk as well as artificial fabrics such as polyamide fiber and nylon respond well to acid paints. Similarly, Dale (2013) indicated that acid paints are appropriate in acidic conditions, where they create strong ionic connections with the cloth for lasting effects. Acid paints are also fairly safe, considering that a number of them may be used as food colors and easiness to apply in tie-dye. Indigo is an example of vat paints, forming a third category of dyes, producing the best outcomes on cellulosic fabrics and silk. Dale (2013) suggested that vat dyes are water-insoluble in their original form, thus they have to go through chemical processes before application on fabric. For vat paints to work well, they should be heated in a concentrated basic solution of lye or caustic potash with a reducing chemical such as sodium hydrosulfite to achieve the best tie-dye outcomes. The fabric is dipped in the solution of paint, and after removal, the vat paint oxidizes to its permanent form, integrating with high wash-fastness of the fiber for lasting effects. Nonetheless, vat dyes, particularly indigo, have to be taken through a treatment process after the application of paint by soaping to avoid the possibility of the paint rubbing off. According to Dale (2013), paints can be employed to dye the cloth and to wash out preexisting fiber-reactive paint; that is, a brown cotton fabric can be dyed green, because of the lightening reaction of the reducing agent in the solution. The greater level of challenges and safety concerns by the designers, especially when using highly concentrated bases tend to limit use of vat paints in tie-dye. According to Kimbrough (2010), discharge chemicals are employed in the bleach of color from fabrics with pre-existing paints, and could be employed in a kind of reverse tie-dye. Household bleach can be employed in dislodging fiber-sensitive dyes on paints with the capacity to resist dyes on hemp or cotton, despite the fact the outcomes are inconsistent because fiber sensitive dyes have varying levels of resistance to bleach. Dale (2013) indicated that tie-dyers should minimize the number of bleaches in order to achieve the finest outcomes. Neutralizing scoring bleaching agents with sodium bisulfite is also important to prevent the possibility of damaging the fibers. The tie-dye pattern Kimbrough (2012) noted that tie-dye can be employed in the creation of a wide range of patterns on cloth, from common spiral shapes, peace sign, and diamond as well as the marble design to more attractive and complex artistic works. As Kimbrough, 2012) had established, using stencil patterns, clamped-on blocks, and stitching, tie-dye designs are technically adjustable and can generate virtually any pattern desired by the dyers. With the developing of new fashions, tie-dye has also evolved to reflect the changing trends in fashion. This is especially true considering that tie-dye is several centuries old. Apart from the use of tie-dye in Latin America, the design has been, for a long time, in use in Asia, with India and Japan taking the lead in the use of the design. Indians refer to the decoration method as ‘bandhani’, from which the word bandanna was coined. Bandanna is a silk neck-cloth worn to keep oneself warm which was initially tie-dyed. Dale (2013) noted that different techniques are employed to create design on the cloth prior to tying. One of the original techniques now seldom employed involves the dampened cloth being positioned over a decorated block of protruding pins. The fabric is held between the index finger and the thumb at the desired points and bound with waxed strings. Alternatively, designers may block-print the patterns of spots using a substance that can dissolve in water; for instance, red ochre. In some situations, a thin piece of plastic with sunken holes can be placed over the cloth and the dissolving solution applied over it. The design oftentimes leaves a pattern of small spots on the cloth (Kimbrough, 2012). Yet, designers may also apply paint, though roughly, on a marked pattern on a cloth. In some cases, tied-dyed knots may be left in their original form to show the buyers that the cloth had been dyed by hand and not subject to more artificial mechanical printing. Tie-Dye in Western society Kimbrough (2012) suggested that tie-dyeing became prominent in the early 20th century. Charles E. Pellow is one of the prominent figures behind the spread of tie-dye in the West. He was lecturing at Columbia University in 1909, when he obtained a number of small fabrics of tie-dyed muslin cloths and eventually gave an address and practical lessons on how the dyers achieved the design. Notably, “shibori” and batik designs were not commonly used in the West before the mid-20th century in as much the same way as contemporary psychedelic tie-dying. Regardless, Kimbrough (2010) noted that tie-dying became more popular following the introduction of cheaper Rit dyes, as dyers could afford the paints they would need to customize cheap T-shirts, dresses, and jeans among other clothes into psychedelic fashions. The tie-dye industry witnessed prominent companies such as the Water Baby Dye Works, Bert Bliss, and Up Tied prop up. Up Tied eventually won the 1970 Coty Award for outpacing other market rivals on tie-dye innovations in the West. Up Tied did customize tie-dyed silk cloths and velvets for unique clients. Tie-dying in Asia According to Kimbrough (2010), tie-dying technique is referred to as ‘lehariya’ in India, where the design is popular for making turban cloths. In the country, fine fabric such as muslin is bent in concertina-style and bound tightly at certain, regular points. It is then immersed in pale-colored dye. Some parts of the fabric are then unfolded and the practice is repeated with increasingly darker paints, to create a wide range of stripes of colors. Indians’ most valued twin ikats known as ‘patola’ are made of warps and wefts that are painted are knitted in silk. In Indonesia, the ‘Kasuri’ style requires a high level of accuracy to achieve. The style witnesses the unwoven warps dyed so that when the fabric is yarned the pattern comes out from the pre-dyed warps. Japanese have made the ‘tsutsugaki’ for a long period of time, with rice paste being used as the resist. Initially, the dyers spread molten wax on the fabric with a special kind of bamboo. But in the 1600, dyers invented the ‘canting’ method of applying wax in which a copper container with varying sizes of wax eased the work. Since then, designers have been able to spread the wax faster, continuously and do achieve varying thicknesses of resists, thus enhancing the quality of the designs for creation (Kimbrough, 2012). The original batiks were single-colored patterns on an indigo cloth, but multi-colored styles have been a common fashion since the 1800s using techniques derived from skilled Indian Muslim dyers. Typical patterns depicted antique symbolic images in complex, proportional, intertwining representations, and matched the social class of their recipients. Kimbrough (2012) noted that a number of the ceremonial cloths developed and ornamented in this manner fall within the most important examples of ornamentation of fabric ever invented in history. The use of charcoal in large scale tie-dying has raised environmental issues in the past. In India for example, wax from bees have been in use as resist to aid the production of chintz in a manner that sanctioned charcoal burning in the society (Dale, 2013). Dyers used pouncing to transport the charcoal pattern onto the fabric through a process that witnessed the use of a permeable bag of charcoal being spread over a pattern punched onto paper (Kimbrough, 2010). Then the molten wax was used to draw a preferred pattern with the help of a reed writing material, in line with the charcoal outlines. The dyers were mostly members of low-caste Hindi community in which each family was known to have unique knowledge about a certain stage of the compound chintz-designing process. The fabric would then be circulated around the cottage industries owned by each specialized family to put the most elegant touches. Africa Tie-dye designs have also been in use in West Africa, particularly in the Hausa region with popular indigo dye pits being installed in Kano, Nigeria and its environs (Kimbrough, 2012). The tie-dyed fabric is then properly embroidered in culturally-rich patterns that are worn in different ceremonies such as weddings, initiation and in office settings among others. It can be argued that that these West African designs propelled the tie-dyed fabrics to be attributed to hippie style. Conclusion Tie-dye is an old technique that has undergone significant transformation over many centuries. From its primitive beginnings in the 8th Century, when simple resist techniques and temporary dyes were used, tie-dying has developed over the period to encompass modern methods of design, application of permanent colors and greater level of intuitive resists. The technique is used virtually everywhere in the world to produce different designs of fabric. The design carries rich cultural symbols that are unique to societies and trace back to ancient times. Tie-dye designs References Dale, S. 2013. Tie Dye. Wearables, 17(5), pp.26-27. Kimbrough, T.C. 2012. Tie-Dye With A Modern Twist. Wearables, 16(5), p.23. Kimbrough, T.C. 2010. Need To Tackle Tie-Dye? Wearables, 14(4), p.37. Read More