Dyeing project

For the last couple of days, I have been volunteering at my son's school.  Some of the other parents and I have been tie-dyeing tenugui.  They will be used as gifts for guests to the school. 

On Wednesday we gathered for an hour to fold and bind the fabric.  We used chopsticks, buttons, and rubber bands to create various patterns.  As we worked, many of the mothers chatted happily about this and that.  I sat quietly and worked.  I try to show up to things like this in support of my son.  I want him to see me giving my all and showing up for him, even if I do so in silence.  Sometimes there is someone there for me to talk to, other times not.  For this project, I did not have anyone chat me up.

On Thursday, I showed up but was told the school employees had the dyeing handled.  They divided the tenugui into three batches.  One was dyed with onion skins - turning the fabric bright yellow.  Another batch was double dyed with onion skins - making burnt orange patterns.  The third batch was dyed with flower blossoms - changing the white fabric to light pink.  While I appreciated the extra hour, I was a bit disappointed to not see this part.  I recently watched one too many YouTube videos about dyeing fabric with various things from nature and I was curious to see how much of the ingredients they used.  My son was also super sad that I wasn't at his school and suddenly drop off was a bit harder than normal. 

Today, the parents went to the school to rinse out the cloth and hang them to dry.  Once again, I worked quietly while conversations buzzed around me.  Suddenly, a mom (who was doing something else at the school) came up to me to tell me my son wanted my attention.  He actually wanted a hug as well as to have my attention for just a bit.  He showed me his pogo skills.  He also shot a couple baskets with a soccer ball.  Then he was ready to go back to his friends and I could get back to hanging up the tenugui.  It was nice being there for him for a short moment.

Once all the tenugui were hung, we were free to go.  I quietly slipped away to go home and cook dinner (curry) and get some chores done. 

The project gave me more confidence to try the natural dying at home.  It will be so interesting to see what we decide to do and the patterns we will create.  I have already been saving onion skins.  Now that I see the vibrant colors created by this easily accessible ingredient, I will be more dedicated to gathering as many as I can.