This video of making a dress out of blue cloth started last summer. I planted a plant that can dye blue, let’s call it blue grass. I recorded its process from planting to mature harvest. See the video for details.
How TO Make The Blue Calico
After I harvest the grown bluegrass, I start fermenting it into a blue liquid. Then I used professional craftsmanship to engrave some patterns on the white cloth. Then put the white cloth with the printed pattern into the fermented blue dye vat. Finally, it is dyed and dried. This is “blue calico”.
What Is Blue Calico?
Blue calico is our precious intangible cultural heritage in China. It has a history of over 1000 years. Its principle is to use cooked, shelled soybean to grind it into powder,
Add lime ash and mix until smooth. As a resist paste, when it is dyed, the part with the resist paste will not be dyed. The final product has this blue and white pattern. Isn’t it amazing?
In the end, I used this blue dye to make a curtain, some quilt covers, a sleeping set, and a dress. I also made grandma a dress for spring. Please watch the video for details, thank you for reading.
Granny, Daughter, and Granddaughter would like to know the “bluegrass”, what is its proper name, so we can try to grow it in Canada and dye our own blue calico., please.
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Granny Sunny
Hi dear, Thank you for your attention. This one is Polygonum Polygonum seeds. You can check Wikipedia for an explanation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persicaria_tinctoria