Tips for Using Rice Paste in a Ferrous Vat

Q: I am interested in making an iron vat for the first time and would like to do some stencil dyeing with rice paste. I see that you suggest rinsing the fabric after each dip but I am concerned that the rinsing will cause my rice paste to come off. Do I need to rinse between every dip? What is the purpose of rinsing?

A: I rinse between dips for a couple reasons: first, it helps to oxidize the indigo more quickly and thoroughly, second, it rinses off any sludge, sediment or flower that may be trapped on the piece or in the crevices which would act as a resist for future dips.

But you have good instinct. When stencil dyeing with rice paste, to ensure the paste does not rinse off, I generally do not rinse between dips unless my piece makes contact with the sediment at the bottom of the vat. If your piece does hit the sediment you WILL need to rinse.

Make sure you don’t crinkle/crumple your pieces to get them in the vat. Rice pasted pieces do best when dipped cleanly into the vat. Because of this, be sure to dye in a very deep vat so your fabric can hang freely in the liquid and not touch the sediment.

For dark results where you need to dip many times, stick to 2-3 dips per day so the rice paste has a chance to dry out and stay firm. I have also found that if I stick to 2-3 dips per day (only dipping once is the safest bet) I can get away with rinsing gently between dips and then giving the piece 24 hours to totally dry out before doing further dips. Rice paste stays pretty resilient as long as it does not get too hydrated which is partly why I prefer using rice paste to clay or other resists which wash off very easily. I’ve found it to be the most tenacious non-wax resist.

I should also note that while dyeing in a heated vat has superior results to dyeing in a cold vat, when dyeing rice pasted pieces a cooler temperature works better because a warm/hot vat will disintegrate the paste after a dip or two.