[ad_1]
In the hilly Upper Austria region of Mühlviertel, the family-run Blaudruckerei Wagner workshop has been in business since 1878. Fourth generation Blaudruck craftsmen Maria and Karl Wagner explained that the intricate process of creating indigo-dyed textiles takes weeks from beginning to end. They first apply the pattern on the fabric with the help of the mint-hued, dye-resistant Papp paste, which is later dyed over with indigo. They then dye the cloth and the dye-resistant parts remain white, revealing locally inspired floral or geometric patterns – stripes were traditionally common in Burgenland, and regional cornflower and hops in Mühlviertel.
I watched as Maria’s son, Sebastian, applied Papp to a linen cloth using a centuries-old hand-crafted wooden block called Modeln with fine brass pins hammered into the block in the shape of a desired pattern. Only a few people in Europe still know how to produce these blocks.
The exact recipe for Papp has always been a closely guarded secret, passed down orally from generation to generation. Each Blaudruck workshop relies on their own mix of ingredients, but the two everyone is comfortable disclosing are gum arabic and clay. Once the patterns have been transferred onto the fabric, it has to air dry for at least four weeks to let the paste set in and harden. Then, it’s time to dye.
Stretching the linen onto a special frame called a Stern, Sebastian dipped it into a massive vat filled with cold water, indigo and lime. “It’s a science, but it’s also an art,” he said, dunking the linen into the vat multiple times. “Every linen reacts to the oxidisation process, during which the colours take shape differently. There are instruments to measure how strong the dye is, but our parents can do it by smell or touch of their fingers.” Finally, the dyed linen is washed in hot water to remove the dye-resist paste, revealing a striking dye-free pattern against the indigo blue.
[ad_2]
Source link