Interesting history of tie-dye (tie-dye)

Tie-dye is dyeing by tying each part of the fabric so that the color does not bleed. This is a way of dyeing that creates a random effect for the colors displayed on the fabric.

Tie-dye methods and styles vary, most with their own origins throughout the ancient world, from Peru to Nigeria, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Each culture finds unique touches to add to their designs, including dyeing fabric tied to sticks, drawing patterns with wax, or creating knots with rice, stones, or beads. However, throughout history, custom tie-dye can represent an individual's status, role, and beliefs.

It is impossible to say which culture first developed tie-dye and when. Mr. Lee Talbot, curator of the George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum (USA), said that is proven by the 'perfection' in the earliest surviving samples found.

Experts in textile history agree on the cultural meaning behind different tie-dye methods around the world and how they have survived to this day.

Bandhani in India

Bandhani is the oldest known form of tie-dye , dating back to 4,000 BC in the Indus Valley Civilization, located in the northern region of present-day India. This form is still applied in India.

Bandhani patterns are created by tying fabric into small bundles with thread before dyeing. A series of these small tufts, which allow the fabric underneath to remain unaffected by the dye, form swirls and patterns on garments such as saris (a favorite among Indian women), scarves and scarves. neck and turban.

According to Assistant Professor Natalie Nudell, at the Fashion Institute of Technology (USA), modern bandana models used in the West evolved from bandhani.

Some of the oldest depictions of bandhani are preserved in records and paintings at the Ajanta caves in Central India. In Northern India, bandhani-dyed fabrics are mentioned in songs and poetry as symbols of love.

Mr Talbot said the connection between bandhani-dyed fabric and love still exists in India today - bandhani fabric is often used and given as a gift at weddings.

Amarra in Peru

Amarra appeared about 1,500 years ago in Peru. This form of tie-dye spread throughout the Americas to the American Southwest. Here, some of the earliest amarra-dyed fabrics created by ancestral Pueblo people were discovered dating to the 10th century.

According to scholar Laurie Webster of the University of Arizona (USA), a distinctive feature of amarra is the lattice design of diamonds with dots in the center, a pattern that symbolizes snakeskin or cornfields.

These are sacred motifs to indigenous groups in the Americas, Ms. Webster said. They used this style of tie-dye to create designs on clothing, blankets, and other decorative fabrics.

According to Ms. Webster, in surviving frescoes and other images, gods and religious figures are often depicted wearing amarra-style dyes.

The ancient Wari people of Peru were masters of the amarra technique. (Photo: Textile Museum (USA)).

Bandhani-dyed fabric in India. (Photo: Adair group).

Shibori in East Asia

Although shibori dyeing techniques originated in China, they are best known as a Japanese art form over 1,000 years ago. The first surviving examples of shibori in China date back to the 4th century. The practice is still practiced there, especially by ethnic minorities in southwest China.

For one method of shibori dyeing, craftsmen put a grain of rice or small piece of metal into each clump of fabric and tie it tightly with thread. After the fabric is dyed, the threads are unwound, creating small circles. This process of tying, dyeing and untying takes a lot of time to create complex patterns.

According to Ms. Nudell, this is an extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive technique but is highly appreciated in Japan. She said that farmers used indigo to create shibori patterns on hemp clothing. Shibori-dyed silk kimonos were very expensive and were mostly worn by the upper class.

Shibori-dyed fabric was popular with aristocrats, wealthy townspeople, and even high-ranking courtesans. When shibori became a symbol of luxury, the government of the time banned it completely as part of Japan's luxury laws.

This law regulated how each social class could dress and spend their money. The authorities then considered it a moral responsibility to maintain the hierarchy. A special decree passed in the late 17th century stated that no one was allowed to make shibori.

However, shibori remained popular even during prohibition. The ban on shibori was lifted in 1868 and it remains a popular traditional practice for kimonos in Japan.

Adire in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the Yoruba people apply the adire dyeing technique by pleating the fabric before tying it with thread or banana leaf fibers and dyeing it. Like shibori, textiles are often dyed blue with indigo.

They also created circular patterns by wrapping stones and large beads inside fabric, similar to shibori.

For the Yoruba people, Ms. Nudell said, admirable designs on clothing are tied to an individual's identity. A dire often carries symbols of the wearer's social and cultural status - such as their age or rank in society.

The cloth is dyed in the traditional way by Nigerians. (Photo: AP).

'Each culture presents tie-dye slightly differently and they interpret it according to their own aesthetic ,' Mr Talbot said.

Adire still plays an important economic and social role for Nigerians, as the creation of clothing, bedding and decorative items provides employment opportunities for local farmers, weavers and dyers . Globally, throughout the centuries something about tie-dye has attracted cultural attention, according to Mr. Talbot.