MAKING BLOCKS FOR FABRIC PRINTING IN INDIA

      A BLOCK CARVING STUDIO IN RAJASTHAN, INDIA.

                SAMPLE BOOK OF WOOD BLOCK DESIGNS.

               SHOWING A CUSTOMER THE DESIGNS.

            

  

  THE BLOCK IS LEVELED THEN A MIXTURE OF CHALK AND WATER IS SMEARED 

ON THE SURFACE.  THE BLOCKS ARE MADE OF SHEESHAM WOOD (INDIAN ROSEWOOD)

      THEN THE DESIGN IS TRANSFERRED ONTO THE BLOCK BY PIERCING THE DESIGN 
                           ON THE PAPER PATTERN INTO THE WOOD.

  

                                MARKS ON THE BLOCK OUTLINING THE PATTERN.

                             DRILLING HOLES IN THE BLOCK BEFORE CARVING.

 USING COTTON WADDING IN THE BLOCK TO HOLD THE DYE.

PART 2 OF NIPPON HANDWEAVES IN KUSAKIZOME DYES BY AKIRA YAMAZAKI

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Gromwell, lithospermum erythrorhizon (murasaki)

Red from Saffron (benibana); yellow, gardenia
black of indigo, nut of the betel palm tree (binro)

Yellow is miscanthus tinctorus (kariyasu) and tumeric (ukon

Red from sappan wood (suoh) treated with ash.
and brown (tamakusu)

Red is sappan wood (suoh); yellow, tumeric

(ukon), blue and black are indigo (aizome)

Red is sappan wood (suoh); brown (tamakusu)

Indigo (ai)

Mountain peach bark (shibuki or yamamomo)

Natural brown cotton or tea colored cotton (chawata)

This loom was known as the cripple loom because when seated at the loom the weaver's feet were tied to the shafts.

NIPPON HANDWEAVES IN KUSAKIZOME DYES by Akira Yamazaki

I received this book as a gift in 1974. It is my treasured possession. Only 200 copies were printed in 1959, mine is No.194.

Asiatic dayflower (tsuukusa)

Saffron (benibana); madder (akane); gardenia (kuchinashi)

Fermented indigo (ai) balls

Sawtooth oak (kunugi)

Red (sappan wood); olive, mountain peach (shibuki); 
black is betel nut palm (binro) and indigo (ai)

Brown dye is gardenia (kuchinashi); 
red is sappan wood (suoh)

Gray is cranes bill geranium (gennoshoko); 
red is sappan wood (suoh)

Maroon is sappan wood (suoh); 
black dyed with indigo (ai) and 
wild sumac (yama-urushi)

Ramie dyed with indigo (ai); tumeric (ukon), 
eulalia grass miscanthus tinctorus (kariyasu) for yellow; 
alder, mountain peach bark and plum 
(han, shibuki and ume) for brown

Plum (ume)

Auburn color, Rosa rugosa (hamanashi); 
black is alder (han) with mountain peach (yamamono)

Gall (fushi or gobaishi); yellow (kuchinashi); 
light purple machilus thunbergi (tamakusu)

Blue (ai); green (ai) and yellow,  
eulalia grass miscanthus tinctorus (kariyasu)

Fermented indigo balls (aidama)

Yellow, gardenia (kuchinashi); red, sappan wood (suoh); 
black, (shibuki, myrica rubia. mountain peach and 
yamamomo, shibuki)

Pomegranate

To be continued....