Resist Dyeing and its Methods

Resist dyeing (resist-dyeing) is a traditional method of dyeing textiles with patterns. Methods are

used to "resist" or prevent the dye from reaching all the cloth, thereby creating a pattern and
ground. The most common forms use wax, some type of paste made from starch or mud, or a
mechanical resist that manipulates the cloth such as tying or stitching. Another form of resist
involves using a chemical agent in a specific type of dye that will repel another type of
dye printed over the top.

Techniques
 Batik
 Dyeing
 Ikat
 Kalamkari
 Katazome
 Leheria
 Mordant
 Reactive dye printing
 Resist
 Ring dyeing
 Rōketsuzome
 Shibori
 Tie-dye
 Tsutsugaki

The objects are grouped into three main categories of resist methods: mechanical, chemical and
ikat

Mechanical resist
Shibori, bandhani, tie-dye

Tie-dye is a technique that has become familiar to many Americans because of brightly colored
T-shirts popular in the 1960s and '70s. The technique of tying off sections of cloth or garments
before treating it with dye has been around for centuries. Japan and India are among the many
parts of the world with long traditions of tie-dye. While most of the examples of mechanical
resist techniques in the collection are variations of tying and binding with thread, other methods
such as clamping and pole-wrapping can also be used. While these techniques have been
practiced for centuries and are performed by highly experienced artisans, there is always an
element of randomness and chance to the results. The subtle variations in shade and pattern are
intrinsic to the beauty of the handmade pieces.

Chemical resist
Batik, adire eleko, tsutsugaki, modrotlac

The use of paste or wax as a resist has developed in many cultures around the world. In the
earliest forms, the patterns were created free hand by drawing the wax or paste onto the fabric.
Such techniques can be seen in the finest Indonesian batiks and Japanese tsutsugaki. As textile
printing developed, resists played a critical role in preventing dark colors from spreading into
lighter areas. Several cultures developed techniques of printing the resist onto the fabric before
dyeing. Achieving several colors on a textile demands repeated application of wax or paste
before each submersion in the dye. Additional colors are created by overdyeing one color over
another.

Ikat
Ikat, jaspe, adras, kasuri

The word ikat derives from the Indonesian verb mengikat, which means “to bind, tie or wind
around.” Clearly the word first applied to Indonesian textiles, but has come to be the general
term used to describe any textile made with this technique. The method involves wrapping yarn
with a resist before dyeing. When such yarn is woven, the resulting textile will be patterned. The
elaborate Central Asian and Indonesian examples required repeated binding and dyeing to
achieve the variety of colors and intricacy of design. The patterns created in ikats will have a
characteristic raggedness around the edges. The patterns can be created on the warp or the weft,
or both. When both the warp and the weft are patterned, the resulting textile is a double ikat.