Chinese Tie Dye, or zha ran, is a traditional and ancient dyeing method in China. In history it was called jiao xie dyeing. It appeared in the Qin or Han Dynasty. By the time of Nan Bei Chao Dynasty, it had become a common craft. At the time of Tang Dynasty, it was very popular. For thousands of years people like it for its simple and ancient taste, nuance variation of colors and dimly distributed grains. The ancient Chinese dyeing was separated from drawing. The original dyes were made of minerals and plants. Later it becomes an excellent branch of modern arts. The production of Chinese Tie Dye can be roughly divided into four steps: design, prick, dye and trim. Among them prick and dye are the key parts of the craft.
The non-copyable feature of designs of Chinese Tie Dye is one of its main characteristics. The pattern and color variation are naturally formed, which is not able to be produced with drawing. The color, contrast of shades, variation of lines can only be managed with experience. The concepts of designers can only be realized through various skills of pricking and dyeing. Only a designer proficiently masters the skills, can he produce desirable artistic effect.
Xiu Tang
Chinese Tie Dye requires no complicated equipments. Various types of designs and patterns are all produced by needles, threads, and skills. The methodology of pricking can be described as prick, string, stitch, cover, etc. The fastening can be sewing, binding, gripping, packaging, back fastening, device fastening etc. Fastening means textile products are bound after being stringed with needles.
The basic theory of Chinese Tie Dye is preventing dyeing, using different shades of color to show the features of the craft. The various shading effect is achieved through different prick skills, conscious control of dyeing scope and degree to produce difference of shades.