Printing Techniques - Resist Block Prints

These shawls were printed using print blocks and a resist technique. The point of a resist print is that the resisting material does not remain on the cloth, it leaves the fabric ground color behind, while the part of the fabric that was not covered takes the dye color when put in the dye bath.

So the shawl on the left shows the simplest type of resist print. A printer has taken a wood print block - around 6" square or so depending on the print repeat - and applied by hand the resist (typically wax) to the shawl. This is a time-consuming process, especially if there is a border on the print, as the pattern repeats must match perfectly. There are no machines to calibrate or large silk screens, this is all done by hand.

Once the resist has been applied to the fabric and is dry, the shawl can be dipped in the dye bath. The fabric takes the color except for where the resist has been applied. After the dye has set, the resist must be removed. With a wax resist, the fabric is typically put in boiling water to remove the wax.

As in the 2 examples on the right of the photo, often other colors are printed over the initial resist pattern to give the design more depth and color. The printer has to again be very careful to match the motifs exactly with what has been printed already when going back over the fabric with the new print block.

Another technique, when printing reds or browns, is to use a mordant.  This is something that you will see often at pua.  The mordants used in India are typically alum, iron and tannin. Alum helps to produce reds and pinks when used with madder plant extract dyes. Iron when used with tannins produces black. Often we speak of madder reds and iron dyes here at the shop.

The mordant is a paste that is applied with a print block. The dye then reacts with the mordant to dye those parts of the fabric, leaving the rest of the fabric unaffected. The reds in the 2 shawls to the right in the photo were made using mordants. Then there can be even more layers of print and color added with print blocks and regular dyes.

As you see it is a complex and time consuming process. But the results are stunning!