I tried red madder dyeing! |「海陽でやってみた！」茜染め体験編
Hi everyone, Gwenafaye here!
こんにちは！グウェナフェーイだよ～
In December, I got to try out a kind of dyeing you can do at our Culture Center’s Crafting Hall. You might have read Tony’s article about indigo dyeing – or aizome – but for a limited time from December to March, you can make some lovely red dyed materials using akane, or red madder!
12月に文化村の工芸館で冬期限定の染めもの体験をさせてもらったよ。みなさんはもうトニーさんの藍染めについての記事を読んだかもしれないけど、12月から3月までは、「茜」で素敵な赤い染め物を作ることができるよ！
We went over to the Crafting Hall and were greeted by Shoko, the master craftsperson who runs all the dyeing experiences. She first explained that akane is not only a different plant from indigo, but that its dye comes from the roots of the plant, unlike indigo dye which uses its plant’s leaves. Akane is not as commonly grown in Japan anymore but it is still widely farmed in India, which is where this day’s dye came from.
工芸館に行くと、講師の祥子先生が迎えてくれて、茜と藍染めの違いについて教えてくれたよ。茜と藍は違う植物ということだけではなくて、藍染めが藍の葉から取れるのに対し、茜染めは茜の根から取れると説明してくれたよ。最近日本ではあまり育たないものだけど、インドでは栽培されていて、そこからこの根の部分を輸入しているそうだよ。
I decided to do a scarf, since it’s very cold in Kaiyo these days! The fabrics you can buy as part of the experience are made of raw cotton and are quite delicate, so for a pattern I went with something that didn’t require any rubber bands, as they could tear the fabric. I scrunched it up and tied it tightly with raw string to preserve the fabric’s natural color while I was dyeing it.
最近、海陽町は寒いから、私はマフラーを染めることにしたよ。染め体験をするときに購入できる生地は、原綿でできていて、破れやすいほどデリケートだから、輪ゴムでしばらなくてもできる模様をデザインしたよ。ギャザーを寄せて、生地の元の色を守るために紐でしっかり締めたよ。
Next, I washed out the scarf in plain water before submerging it in a pot filled with the dye. The dye is kept just below boiling while you work for the best results. Dyed materials “cook” like this for about 15 minutes, occasionally being gently stirred to keep all parts in the dye. It smells slightly sweet and spicy, like a nice tea. The dye is made very much like tea – Shoko puts the dried akane root pieces in a bag, which she then steeps in boiling water.
次に、マフラーを洗って、茜染めの鍋に入れたよ。沸騰直下に保つと効果的だよ。時々軽くかき混ぜながら「煮る」ことで、すべての部品が染料になじむようになっていたよ。素敵なお茶みたいで、ちょっと甘くて、辛い香りだったよ。染料の作り方も、お茶のように、乾燥した根の部分を袋に入れて沸騰したお湯に浸して作るよ。
Once the fabric had soaked up the dye, I took it out with tongs and squeezed out any excess in a separate bowl before rinsing the scarf well with plain water. The color was very light and pretty, almost cherry blossom pink! I then washed it in an aluminum sulfate solution, which is a non-toxic dye-fixing agent, to lock in the color.
生地が染料を吸った後で、トングで余分な染料を絞り出して、もう一回マフラーを普通の水で洗ったよ。色はとても薄くて、とてもきれいだった！桜みたいだったよ。その色を守るために、「ミョウバン」という無害な染料保存剤の溶液で洗ったよ。
You can stop at this point, if you want a light and gentle color, but I went back for another dip! I wanted to see how rich the red could become. After another 15 minutes of stirring and almost-boiling, I felt like the color was just right. After one more rinse and a quick spin to remove excess water, the pattern was ready to be revealed!
薄い色のものが欲しいときは、ここで作業を止めてもいいよ。でも、私はもう一回やったよ。茜染めがどのような濃さまで染めることができるんだろうと思ったから！さらに15分ほどかき混ぜて、ほぼ沸騰した後で、ちょうどいい色になったような気がしたよ。洗って、ドライヤーで過剰水を脱水して、やっと模様をお披露目！
I carefully cut away the strings and opened the scarf up to reveal this really cool stripey pattern! I think it turned out really well, and it barely took any time at all. I was done in less than an hour and had a beautiful new scarf to keep me warm. I can’t recommend the experience enough.
紐を大切に切り離し、マフラーを開けてみると、この縞々な模様が現れた！とてもいい感じだと思うし、あまり時間がかからなかったよ！一時間以内で、綺麗で温かいマフラーができたよ。この体験をとてもおすすめするよ！
Shoko is a lovely teacher who is very committed to her work. She’s been working with indigo for about 9 years now, and is passionate about natural products and creating beautiful things in environmentally safe ways. That passion makes this a great hands-on experience – you really make the piece yourself with your bare hands, and don’t have to worry.
祥子先生は親切なだけではなく、染めものに全力を注いでいる先生だよ。9年間ぐらい藍染めを扱っているよ。その上、ナチュラルなものや環境に安全で、綺麗なものを使うことに熱心。その熱心な思いは工芸館での体験にいい影響を与えているよ。
You can do akane-zome at the Culture Center until the end of March, so if you have time – or need to make something for that special someone for Valentine’s Day! – please check it out! 😊
3月の終わりまで海南文化村の工芸館で茜染めをすることができるから、時間があれば （その上、特別な人のためにバレンタインデーのプレゼントが必要であれば）、チェックしてねー！