Fabric for Wood Block Printing
The fabric has to be rinsed with plenty of water in order to prepare it for dyeing and eliminate starch and the unwanted substances existing in the fabric.
The fabric has to be whitened and for this reason it must be laid on sand after rinsing and water should be constantly sprayed in order to turn it white after a while due to exposure to sunlight.
Sometimes, it is preferred to have a yellow background and normally the rinsed fabric is dyed with natural herbal solvents.
In the production stage, the mold is soaked in black color by the master and it is put on the desired spot on the fabric and by punching it the design will be transferred from the mold onto the fabric. Then the red color is printed in the aforementioned manner and the fabric is rinsed when the color is dried up in order to eliminate extra color.
Natural herbal substances are used for fixing the colors and the colors are fixed by heating up the fabrics in a solvent.
Translated by: Sadroddin Musawi
Other links:
Qalamzani: Iranian Art of Engraving Images on Metal
Iranian Art:Mina-kari
