Textile Staining With Whenua

What if we started wearing colours of our whenua again, as a way to identify where we are from?

Nā Lanae Cable - August 2021

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Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of soy milk

  • 1 cup of hot water

  • bandana or cotton/linen fabric

  • 1/2 cup of powdered clay

Soak bandana/fabric in soy milk, let it sit for at least half a day.

Tip: The enzymes in the soy milk serve as a binder for the clay.

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Mix clay in with half a cup of water and then massage the clay/water mix into bandana/fabric. The bandana should be covered with clay.

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Pour the rest of the water into the bowl with the bandana. Let it sit for at least half a day.

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Take bandana/fabric out of the clay + water mix and squeeze out excess liquid into bowl or sink.

Tip: If it looks like the clay will hold well to the bandana/fabric you can also hand wash in cold water.

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Hang the bandana/fabric out to dry, once dried it is ready to wear!

This process creates a stain, rather than a permanent dye. But once you know the process, you can repeat whenever your garments need livening up.

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