Being transparent about how our textiles are made is important to us here at DABU. We believe natural is better for everyone and when we say natural, we mean NATURAL. So natural, in fact, that we use the excess water to keep our studio jungle thriving. Sharing the behind the scenes of how our textiles are made is not just about being transparent though. We share it because we think it’s amazing what herbal dyes and some hard work can do! We want you to enjoy the process too.
So how were our bandhani baby blankets made? Great question. I would love to tell you!
We start with un-dyed, au naturel handwoven cotton. Cut to size, 10-11 pieces at a time are kept in boiling water (plus a little sodium bicarbonate and liquid detergent) for four hours to open up the fibers and release any dirt, grease or grime that might be hiding away in the fabric. If left untreated, these hidden impurities would inhibit the dying process.
Once the fabric is dry, we move on to the next step: the mordant. A mordant is a substance used to fix a dye to fabric. It opens up the fibers, attaches to the dye and fixes to the fabric. In this case, we used alum (potassium aluminium sulphate) and soaked the fabric overnight.
After drying, we dip the fabric into a mixture of heated water and camel dung for about a half hour. This process helps to fix the appropriate amount of mordant (alum) to the fabric while removing any excess. Camel dung contains just the right amounts of sodium and calcium phosphates to complete this process without the addition of manufactured substances.
A good thorough wash is needed after that! Once clean, we spend almost two hours tying the fabric with cotton string to create the daisy chain design. As labor intensive as this is, the dying itself is fairly simple.
A quick dip in the dye of choice, a little stirring and some heat and wala! It gets a good wash to remove any excess dye and it’s hung up to dry.
For those of you wondering how each color came to be, here’s a color guide!
Blue = indigo. One of our very favorite dyes here at DABU, indigo can give a wide variety of blues and this baby blue is so…well, bluebird! Something fun about indigo: no need for a mordant!
Pink = Indian madder. This dye comes from the root of the madder plant (or rubia tinctorum for you plant enthusiasts). Also with a wide range of color possibilities, we think this cherry blossom pink is the bee's knees.
Yellow = pomegranate peels. Amazingly enough, pomegranate peels produce the most stunning shades of yellow. Cheery and bright, this yellow is marigold all over.
Coral = dried pomegranate flowers and Indian madder. First a little yellow, then a little red. This coral color had us stumped for awhile but now we can’t think of it as anything but snapdragon!
Green = pomegranate peels and iron. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Especially when you do things without controlling chemicals. This color is the result of things not going exactly the way we had planned and us rolling with it. Yellow not quite right? Let’s dip it in an iron bath and get a mossy green! Like its name, moss, it was resilient and showed up in a beautiful way.
Because of the nature of natural fibers and dyes, there is always the potential for variation. As you can see here, all of these blankets received the same TLC and yet each has it’s own distinct personality. We love it!
Of course, the finishing touch is always a clean edge seem and a little pop of a DABU tag in the corner. These babies are clean, bright, sturdy, and yes, soft (after a few washes!); ready for your babies to snuggle up and enjoy.
Bye for now!
Sarah
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