The Secretary of the Craft Center called to say they would be dying for the new baskets if I wanted to watch. So I went over to see how it was done. Some of the ladies had started the baskets before they knew they were to be dyed so that is the reason some of the pieces going in were started. They then laid them straight and reshaped them.
The big tub had water boiling when the dye master started working. Yes the water all had to be fetched in the big buckets no running water.
The stick is what he stirs with as will as dips out the color with. I guess you would call that far from exact measuring but he seems to know exactly how much to make yellow.
Here the secretary (the one in the white shirt) and the ladies are looking at the dye job.
These are the ones they had started making, then dyed them, and now she is laying them so when they dry they are the right shape. Did you know if a basket get misshaped all you do is get it damp and work it back into place, then let dry. Watched a whole lot of baskets that had be squashed in the packing, get wet, shaped and dried right back where they wanted them. Think of the baskets we have thrown away because their shape was gone.
When all the yellow was finished, the dye master added colors until he got the shade of brown he wanted and then they dyed all the brown pieces, then when that was done, more colors and out came the green pieces.
Here, like Easter Eggs (they had NO idea what I was talking about dying Easter Eggs) we would have had different pots, for each color and would have measure exactly the amt needed that would have been calculated. It is amazing that we would say primitive yet look at the beautiful baskets they make.
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