"We want every piece of clothing in the 'Ink Splendor' series to be a unique work of art!"
"Great! That's wonderful!"
Looking at the flowing ink painting style on the design drawing, and then at the dyed sample fabric that Zhou Qiqi had taken out, Zhang Guoqiang felt a surge of heat rush to his head and his whole body was full of energy!
Master Ma was eager to get started, his eyes shining, and he couldn't wait to get to work.
Zhou Qiqi was also swift and decisive, grabbing a freshly cut piece of clothing:
"Let's get right to it! Time waits for no one, I've already mixed the dyes!"
She was full of confidence. She had made paper fans with her friends before and had a vague memory of it. She thought it was just about putting cloth in and stirring it.
It's quite simple. It seems her "Ink Splendor" series will be released soon.
She carefully dipped the piece of clothing into the deep blue dye basin, and following the method she remembered her master using, stirred it a few times with a wooden stick. She kept track of the time in her mind, and when she felt it was about right, she pulled it out.
However, the ideal is often far from reality.
The moment the dripping wet fabric was unfolded, the workshop fell silent.
There was no flowing ink painting effect as I had imagined; instead, there were patches of dirty, uneven shades of gray-blue, like stains someone had accidentally smeared on, or like unmixed paste smeared on cloth—it looked utterly unsightly.
Zhou Qiqi held up this "masterpiece," her mouth slightly agape, her eyes wide with disbelief, completely dumbfounded: "...How could this be?"
She murmured incredulously, her fingers clutching helplessly at the ruined piece of fabric.
"I clearly... Zhouzhou just casually splashed it yesterday..."
Her blank and aggrieved appearance made Zhang Guoqiang and Master Ma realize a fact: Zhou Qiqi was just a twenty-year-old girl.
Master Ma couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head with a helpless yet affectionate expression. "Silly girl!"
She stepped forward and took the wad of "paste cloth" from Zhou Qiqi's hand.
"Dyeing cloth is not a simple matter, especially woolen fabric! It's thick and absorbs water easily, so you have to be very particular about the techniques."
She examined the failed dyeing result closely, then shook her head.
"The patch you saw yesterday was just paint splashed on and spread naturally. It set once the water dried. It's completely different from our proper dyeing process, where the color is absorbed into the fibers!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiqi's shoulders slumped, and her bright little face scrunched up. "Ah? Then... what should we do?"
"Don't rush,"
Master Ma wore a calm smile as he deftly tied his apron and said,
“My family has been running a dyeing workshop for generations. I’ve been learning this skill since I was a child, so I’m pretty good at it. Let me give it a try.”
Master Ma first reached out and tested the water temperature in several dye basins, shook his head, and then turned around and told someone to boil water to make warm water.
Then, she picked up a small spoon and carefully adjusted the concentration of dye in each basin, mixing it a little darker and a little lighter, while muttering to herself.
Then, she picked up a new piece of clothing. Instead of immersing it completely like Zhou Qiqi had, she used a large bristle brush to dip it in the prepared dark blue dye. With a peculiar rhythm, she brushed and dotted the fabric with varying speeds and pressures.
After applying the dark color, I quickly switched to another brush, dipped it in diluted light blue or even off-white dye, and gently swept and blended the edges.
Finally, the entire piece of fabric is carefully immersed in a color-fixing solution at a specific temperature, with fingers deftly turning and pressing to ensure even dye penetration.
The movements were fluid and graceful, displaying the composure and discipline characteristic of a master.
A short while later, the piece of clothing that was lifted up again, although still different from the effect in Zhou Qiqi's design drawing, was completely different!
The boundaries between deep blue, light blue, and moon white are no longer harsh, but rather have become natural and soft, blended transitions. Although it is still a bit immature, the rudimentary form of ink wash painting and the sense of sophistication are already faintly revealed!
"See that?"
Master Ma wiped his hands and said with a smile.
"Dyeing is a slow and meticulous process. Water temperature, dye concentration, brushing force and direction, soaking time... even a slight difference can result in drastically different effects. To consistently achieve the beautiful blending effect shown in Qiqi's drawings, it's not something that can be done overnight. You have to be patient, try and adjust little by little! Moreover, you need to conduct a lot of experiments. These few basins are not enough."
Zhou Qiqi's eyes lit up again as she looked at the piece of material, which, although not perfect, was already showing signs of charm.
The initial hurdles of finding the raw materials and inspiration have been overcome; all that remains is more patience and hard work.
We've already endured days and nights of searching for materials, so why should we be afraid of spending a few more days adjusting them?
She immediately cheered up and carefully asked Master Ma what tools and materials he needed, and asked Zhang Guoqiang to send someone to procure them immediately.
For the next few days, the lights in the workshops of the First Garment Factory stayed on almost all night.
Zhou Qiqi, Zhang Guoqiang, and Master Ma, along with a group of trustworthy female workers on the production line, formed a temporary "dyeing problem-solving team".
In an empty factory building, huge dye vats were set up, rows of dye basins were steaming, and bristle brushes and flat brushes of various sizes were piled up to one side.
The process of developing this dyeing technique was far more difficult than they had imagined.
Failure is commonplace; either the color is too light and won't show up, or it's too dark and looks dirty.
Either the blending boundaries are too harsh, or the colors mix into a messy blob.
The dyed fabric piled up in basket after basket, and everyone's hands and aprons were covered with mottled colors.
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