Friday update from Jaipur! We travelled about an hour from the city to the village of Bagru which specialises in a particular kind of block printing with mud as a resist. We each made our own cotton stole, choosing the blocks for the design and getting to grips with the black clay. As sections were printed, they were sprinkled in a kind of sawdust which stuck to the clay. Once  the whole design was printed and dried they were dipped in dye – either indigo blue (very popular!) or a smoky grey from black kasis ( a green mineral which turns to a black dye when diluted in water. Who knew that indigo dying came out green and turned that lovely colour as it dried?!?

Drying, then a second dip was followed by washing and drying again. Once all the sawdust and clay was removed, our pieces were  washed, dried and the designs revealed. It was a long day, hot and sweaty, but an incredible experience which we all thoroughly enjoyed.