Queen shows talent using bauxite dye
KUANTAN: If two days ago the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Almarhum Sultan Iskandar revealed that she had baju kurung made from the Royal Pahang woven bauxite fabric, yesterday she showed how to use the mineral as a dye.
Using only a white “Pagoda” T-shirt, rubber band, bauxite water, dye from tarum tree or its scientific name Indigofera Tinctora, she managed to turn the simple T-shirt into an attractive orange and indigocoloured shirt.
The T-shirt was then awarded to her escort Brigadier General Mohd Zahari Yahya.
“I want to show everyone that bauxite can also be used as a dye,” she told Bernama here.
Earlier, Tunku Hajah Azizah spent more than five hours participating in the Natural Dye Creative Workshop at the Pulau Keladi Cultural Village here, accompanied by her daughter Tengku Puteri Jihan Azizah ‘Athiyatullah Sultan Abdullah and daughter-in-law Tengku Puteri Suraiya Afzan Mohamed Moiz.
Tunku Hajah Azizah also designed some other T-shirts and aprons using the tie and dye technique and encouraged her escorts to take part and produce their own designs.
Meanwhile, chairman of the workshop Fatimah Ismail said the two-day programme was aimed at promoting the natural dye techniques to the local textile industry practitioners.
“We bring four textile dye specialists from overseas namely Laos, Thailand, India and Indonesia as well as local experts such as Aziz Awang to share their knowledge and experience using natural dyes,” she said.
Besides bauxite, she said other natural dyes featured in the workshop included mangrove tree bark, mango leaves, cherry leaves, as well as mangosteen leaves and skin. - Bernama