Mr. Yasin (and others of this diminishing tribe of master dyers & printers) uses natural colours for their dyeing & printing. The development of these colours is an art in itself which though similar across the country has regional uniqueness wherin printers and dyers from each region have modified the base recipes a bit to suit local conditions.

BLACK

Waste iron (old horse-shoes etc.) are soaked in water along with jiggery and millet atta for a minimum of 15 days. This water is then boiled at around 80 degrees centigrade after which the residue is removed. Tamarind seed powder are then added and the mixture is then re-boiled till the colour is obtained.

INDIGO

The Indigo plant is most commonly grown in regions of South India but of late efforts have been made to grow this in regions of Rajasthan and elsewhere. The fabric is left in the sun to oxidzie after each dip in the dye pit. It is really critical that the sunlight is just right for this as any sudden clouds etc. can result in the change of color. A slightest change in the sunlight can cause a shade variation on the fabric. The dyed fabric is washed continuously for about two days to get rid of any residue colour and gives blue color on completion.

RED

The first process is “Harda”wherin the fabric is soaked myrobulan and dried. It is then dipped in a solution of alum and wate and then dried. This fabric is then given a rinse to remove the ‘daboo’. This fabric is then ‘dyed’or boiled in a solution of the ‘dhavari’ flower and sakur mixed with alizirine for about one hour. In case of printing, this solution is thickened and printed on the fabric with wooden blocks.

GREE/YELLOW

To convert Indigo to Green the fabric is dipped in a solution of Turmeric & left out to dry resulting into finished ‘green’ colored fabric.

YELLOW/ORANGE

These colours are developed by soaking pomegranate fruit shells and using the residue solution to dye the fabrics. This is normally done in conjunction with any of the above colours to get the required shades.

NAVY BLUE

To develop a navy blue shade, Indigo dyed fabric is dipped in a solution of ‘harda’ and iron (blackish) water. After this it is subjected to two cold rinses.