Mud dyeing is not a widespread practice in India, despite the country's long history with mineral and plant based colour. The approach shares similarities with dorozome, where mineral content and repeated immersion gradually build the colour through a reaction.
The colour in our process comes primarily from iron and tannin reactions. We prepare iron liquor using rusted iron, jaggery and tamarind, then combine it with sappan wood, kattha, madder, betel leaves, and crushed red mud (Geru Mitti). The fabric sits in this solution and the iron and tannins react directly with the fibre.
The mud itself is naturally red and contains iron oxide which is weathered. This iron is already oxidised and largely insoluble, so it does not directly react with the fibre or tannin to produce colour on its own. What it does is shift the undertone toward warmer, beigeish browns, adding a mineral character without functioning as a primary dye.
Additional materials like betel leaves and babul contribute further tannins that influence fixation and tonal range. Unlike our Iron Ink process where we use repeated dips, here the fabric is left sitting in the solution for roughly a day or two, giving the iron, mud and tannins time to fully react with the fibre. No two batches come out the same. Even within a single piece, small variations remain visible across the surface.
