Dhoti and ceremonial cloth fashions from the 13thC through the 17thC and for some years beyond, have several border designs block printed on the pallu ends of the cloth. (Unlike saris where the pallu is woven on the vertical, but the primary pallu ends up on the horizontal and is many times deeper. Dhoti pallus remain on the vertical once draped.) It is common to find the same motif repeated in different colours adding variety and visual stimulous.
For the yellow dhoti I've been developing ideas using geometric shapes to continue the geometric motif sprinkled across the field of the fabric. Typically for the period I am using the same colour palette as I will be employing in the field. Namely red and black. My intention is to incorporate the yellow ground colour of the fabric into the design as much as possible, effectively creating a third colour.
Because of several constraints viz; my physical limitations in holding heavy wooden blocks and applying them with sufficient "wellie" to the fabric, space, hardships in locating substitutes for the wood-blocks, my inexperience in this medium to mention the most relevant, these border designs will be essentially simple.
I'll be using an amalgam of several techniques for embellishing the dhoti fabric. Stamping the fabric will form the main body of the work but I will be enlarging on details by painting other areas, where I'll rely on the use of gutta to help restrain the fabric paint as much as I can possibly manipulate both it and the paint.
The interesting aspects of fabric paint, is the similarity to some of the Ikat weaves in sections where the paint bleeds into the weave of the fibres. I am hoping in time to be able to use this to it's full and unexpected potential! Based on the experiments I did with the gutta a few days ago, the gutta does seem to work well enough on the cotton Lawn. (After washing the samples last night once I'd set the paint I found that not all the areas where the gutta had been applied had controlled the fabric paint. Especially the very fine line work. I could be looking at having to work the gutta on both sides of the fabric in future.)
For the yellow dhoti I've been developing ideas using geometric shapes to continue the geometric motif sprinkled across the field of the fabric. Typically for the period I am using the same colour palette as I will be employing in the field. Namely red and black. My intention is to incorporate the yellow ground colour of the fabric into the design as much as possible, effectively creating a third colour.
Because of several constraints viz; my physical limitations in holding heavy wooden blocks and applying them with sufficient "wellie" to the fabric, space, hardships in locating substitutes for the wood-blocks, my inexperience in this medium to mention the most relevant, these border designs will be essentially simple.
I'll be using an amalgam of several techniques for embellishing the dhoti fabric. Stamping the fabric will form the main body of the work but I will be enlarging on details by painting other areas, where I'll rely on the use of gutta to help restrain the fabric paint as much as I can possibly manipulate both it and the paint.
The interesting aspects of fabric paint, is the similarity to some of the Ikat weaves in sections where the paint bleeds into the weave of the fibres. I am hoping in time to be able to use this to it's full and unexpected potential! Based on the experiments I did with the gutta a few days ago, the gutta does seem to work well enough on the cotton Lawn. (After washing the samples last night once I'd set the paint I found that not all the areas where the gutta had been applied had controlled the fabric paint. Especially the very fine line work. I could be looking at having to work the gutta on both sides of the fabric in future.)
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