Ash Water Tie Dye
The method of tie-dyeing gray water
The ancient art of dyeing includes gray water as the important one. The system of gray water is quite laborious. Choose the ash of good wood, fill it with a purifying utensil, gradually pour water, stir it well, wait for it to be clarified, and take the supernatant liquid, which is gray water.
At the beginning of tie-dyeing, choose a plain cloth, and observe the density of its quality and the purity of its color. Use cotton thread as a tool, depending on the pattern you read in your heart, or like a flowing cloud, or like a blooming flower, or like an auspicious beast, tightly bundle the cloth. The bundle should be tightened to prevent the dye from seeping and damaging its pattern.
After the bundle is completed, place the cloth in the gray water, and when soaking, measure the water temperature and sky. When the sun is warm, the soaking time is slightly shorter; when it is cold, the soaking time should be long. During this time, often turn the cloth and silk, so that the gray water is evenly dyed. When the color changes, the embryonic shape is slightly seen, take it out and drain it.
Then, prepare a dye tank, fill it with paint, or red like Danxia, or blue like the blue sea, or yellow like the sun. Soak the cloth in gray water and slowly enter the tank. When dyeing, you need to stay by the side, check the depth of its color, and turn it in time to make the dyeing even. If you want a rich color, you can soak it longer; if you want a light and elegant color, you can soak it slightly shorter.
After dyeing, take out the cloth and untie the cotton thread. The pattern is looming and interesting. Then rinse it with water several times to remove its floating color, and show it in a ventilated place to dry. When it dries, gently rub the cloth surface to make it soft. In this way, the cloth that has been tied and dyed with gray water has unique patterns and quaint colors. It can be used for clothing and decoration. It has a different style and carries the ingenuity and dyeing skills of the ancients.
