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Toda Embroidery- A Tango of Needles

Toda Embroidery

 

Toda people have a unique way of dressing. Both men and women cover themselves with a unique shawl  called Puthukuli which is designed and embroidered by themselves. It is intricately embroidered with red and blue or black threads at the borders. It is worn like a Roman Toga.  On one end of the cloth three stripes- two of red and one of black are woven into it. It is in these stripes that the embroidery is worked.  The darning stitch is used for embroidering motifs and patterns.  The base fabric is  bleached white cotton with a balanced weave structure. It enables the artisan to count and embroider the pattern.  No embroidery  frame is used  but instead they use their fingers to see, count and pick up threads by stretching the fabric. At each turn little tufts of threads are left protruding body. This technique ensures that each pattern created has a rich texture.  Patterns used for embroidery are similar to the ones used for tattoo marks.

Sources of Images and Text

1. http://www.cohands.in/handmadepages/pdf/331.pdf

2. http://www.parikramaholidays.com/pdf/Poothukuly-A-Toda-Ceremonial-Shawl.pdf

3.  A very nice story for children depicting Toda Culture http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/22nbt-%20The%20Toda%20&%20The%20Tahr%20by%20E.R.C.%20Davidar.pdf

 

 

Chuna Patri Printing Process of Bagru

It is amazing to know the variety of printing processes used in traditional printing in India. One of them is Chuna Patri process used in Bagru.

In this process a solution is prepared using Patri( Aniline Hydrochloride), Potassium Chlorate and Copper sulphate. 

Potassium Chlorate

Aniline Hydrochloride( Patri)

Copper Sulphate

Fabric is dipped into it and while it is wet, it is printed with lime + Gum. Lime acts as a discharge and doesn't allow the black color to develop on those areas. 

Fabric Printed with Lime

It is then dried in the sun. Every part of the fabric which is not printed first turns green and then jet black upon exposure to sun.  

Fabric Turning Green on Exposure to Sun

Fabric Turning Black Gradually

The problem is that the Patri and Potash makes the fabric weaken so post washing is very important.  To get a grey, black color is added with lime. It gives some of the best Blacks and white you can ever find. 

The Dye class is aniline black, used by Century Textiles long ago for dyeing their umbrellas. Patri is Aniline Hydrochloride, also known as aniline salt. It is a product that is made by aniline oil and HCl. This is in the form of white flake crystals and used for making black color in textile printing. 

It works on the principle that when a salt of aniline in solution is exposed to the action of oxidizers, it yields a black dye of such depth that other dyes look grey or green in comparison. In this case the aniline salt dissolves in water to give a acidic solution with a pH of around 5. 

Cotton  is dipped in the solution containing aniline salt, potassium chlorate, which acts as an oxidizer and copper salt, which acts as an oxygen carrier. The dyed material them becomes greener due to formation of Emeraldine and then turns jet black. 

When a wet solution is then printed with lime, the Ca(OH)2 will neutralize the selected areas as well as bleach them by forming calcium chloride, which gives such a brilliant white color. 

Faults during Patri Printing

1. Unevenness: This is mainly due to uneven impregnation. It also occurs when the fabric is allowed to come in contact with water before it is turned black. Even wet hands will lead to unevenness. 

2. Greening: This is due to insufficient oxidation. Often this is observed after some storage. 

3. Rubbing: This is due to the improper dyeing conditions and chemicals. 

4. Bronziness: This is due to over oxidation.

5. Tendering: During the formation of black a considerable amount of free Hydrochloric Acid may be formed, which upon acting on the cellulose at the elevated temperature is likely to attack cotton and produce tendering by formation of hydrocellulose. It can also happen if the fabric is aged ( exposed to air) for a prolonged period before washing. It is suggested that Ammonium Chloride should be added in the liquor to prevent this tendering. 

Further Studies

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Linen and Ramie

These nuggets of wisdom about Linen Fabric I have gathered from the website of Jayashree Textiles of Aditya Birla Group:

1.Linen was extensively used in the mummification process by the ancient Egyptians, as it helped preserve the dead body and to this day remains of some important mummies have their linen coverings intact.

2. In ancient Celtic times, linen was spun in an anti-clockwise direction as it was believed that this endowed mystical powers bringing the weaver good fortune

3. Scientists have recently discovered, cutting linen that was preserved in the British Museum woven 6000 years ago, is structurally perfect just as any new linen today. This reveals that linen has the ability to resist the effects of time and that linen is not affected by germs.

4. The word ‘spinster’, meaning single woman comes from the time when flax was still spun on spinning wheels by women. This skilled work was considered as an advantage when looking for a suitable husband. Single women were encouraged to sit outside and spin, so that they could be admired by potential suitors as they passed. As a result, the word gradually became associated with single woman.

5. ‘Flaxen hair beauty’ comes from the beauty of the flax fiber, which resembles golden hair.

Then there is a “caution” of confusing Linen against Ramie and other synthetic fibers and cotton slubs;  this reads as follows: 

1.   Ramie is being sold as Linen in India whereas Ramie is not Linen. 

2.   Ramie the Produce of China gets harsher after every wash and itches to the skin, whereas linen fabrics gets softer after every wash and becomes very much soothing to skin.

3.   Further cotton slubs, polyester slubs fabrics are also not linen, however they are being sold as linen misleading to the consumer.

A search about the Ramie Fiber and its comparison to Linen revealed to me an amazing treatise on the other natural fibers, which by itself very helpful but unfortunately deals very less with ramie and their potential for India. On probing further, I came to know this article on Ramie fiber.

A site selling Ramie fabric talks about “100% Ramie Linen Fabric-Ramie is a fiber similar to linen. In fact, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between this fabric and the most expensive linen”.

I just wonder what would be the price difference between these two fabrics. Ramie is reported to be twice strong than Linen.

A very useful article comparing Linen with Ramie says the following among other opinions: "Textiles made from ramie behave similarly to linen textiles. They are prone to wrinkling and will breakdown if sharply creased, so it is best to fold them loosely and store flat. One advantage ramie has over linen is that it is naturally bacteria- and mold-resistant. It holds dye well, although saturated colors can be prone to crocking, which is discoloration of skin or other fabrics that contact the dyed ramie at stress points or wet areas. Ramie 

can handle the same heat and agitation as linen."

A further research article says that “ Ramie is the strongest bast fiber and one of the strongest natural fibers comparable to cotton and silk. In terms of length to breadth ratio, whose higher value indicates better fiber quality, is even greater than cotton and linen. However Ramie is stiff and brittle with low elasticity".

I feel that Ramie has potential to be another fiber of the future

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