Tie-dye illustration
Page from Felix Driessen's Tie and Dye Work, Manufactured at Semarang, Island Java, 1889, Illustration by Pieter Willem Marinus Trap.
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10 steps of tie-dye
story by Phoebe Bowsher.Have you ever tried your hand at tie dye? This illustration from 135 years ago could help you get started today in just ten steps. Framed by a theatrical curtain of patterned silk, these numbered drawings find themselves on the stage of the Museum Volkenkunde in 1889. Recently, exact objects that match each illustration were uncovered in the depot of the museum. Let’s pull back the curtain on these drawings to discover how these strange shapes are actually a manual for making…