A singular trusted person…
Dye Craft Traditions
32Spirits Textiles are dyed using only natural local ingredients such as barks, seeds, and leaves. In recent years, chemical dyes have found their way into the market due to their cheaper price. However, interest in organic textiles and natural dyes has created a resurgence in traditional ways.
Thanks to collectors like you, natural fabrics and dyes are once again popular and have created market demand for a healthier, sustainable product for artisans, customers and the environment. Critically, knowledge of these intensive processes will be passed down and preserved.
In cultural beliefs, colors have significance in daily life as well as rites of passage. Specific colors are used for ceremonial rites such as birth and death, to keep bad spirits away and to pay homage to the temple, to name just a few examples.
Indigo dyes are used in the majority of 32Spirits Textiles. Indigo dyeing is a practice several thousand years old and is regarded as a process with magical properties. The leaves and stems of the indigo plant are fermented in vats for a period of weeks and must be tended by an expert dyer. This job is performed by a singular trusted person in the village who is endowed with a connection to these mystical forces. When the dye bath is ready, hanks of yarn are submerged into the vats and then pounded repeatedly with a wooden mallet to drive the dye deep into the fibers. The yarns are then hung to dry in the open air. The process is repeated until the desired depth of color is achieved.
