(Baonghean.vn)- Using grass, flowers and leaves to dye brocade is a secret of the Thai Quy Chau people that few people know about. And it is also this secret that has shaped the unique brocade colors of this land.
To create natural, fresh, and durable colors for each brocade product, Thai women in Quy Chau have to find and collect coffee leaves, eclipta prostrata, red phăng tree bark, xet roots, turmeric, lime leaves, hom leaves, velvet leaves, almond leaves, peanuts, jackfruit wood, etc. to make dyes.
After washing, the leaves and roots are chopped and put into the pot to boil for about 10 minutes, just enough time for the leaves and roots to release their color.
Depending on each pattern, people have different mixing methods, with different ratios to produce colors such as purple red, moss green, orange yellow, banana green, green,...
Color can be dyed onto cotton, silk, etc. to color a finished fabric, but mainly to color the fibers.
All dyes are made from natural materials found in the forest, such as orange-yellow extracted from the roots of the Xet tree, green banana leaves from the longan tree, brown from coffee leaves, red from ant wings... Other colors must be mixed with many different colors. This is the secret of each "artisan" to get the desired natural color.
After drying to "catch the color" is the stage of spinning the yarn. Because it is dyed naturally, the yarn after spinning has a fresh color, does not fade and more importantly, does not affect health and is environmentally friendly.
After designing each product such as skirts, scarves... comes the weaving stage. This stage requires meticulousness of the craftsman.
Thanks to that ingenuity, through each brocade fabric, we can immediately feel the richness of everyday colors, in which the green of trees, the bright yellow of sunlight, the white, pink, red... of wild flowers in the deep forest, on the fields, along the streams... stand out.
Because they are dyed from grass, flowers and leaves, the brocade products of the Thai people in Quy Chau have their own beauty and value. And above all, it is through this that it is not difficult to recognize the love and passion for the profession as a beautiful soul of the Thai women in Quy Chau. (Photo: Sach Nguyen)
That is also the reason why Thai women's costumes are unique wherever they appear. Photo: Sach Nguyen
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