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Activities / Kalamkari / Kalamkari Bag

Kalamkari Bag

Kalamkari Tote Bag: Hand-Drawn with a Bamboo Pen on Cotton

Level
Advanced
Duration
6 - 10 hours (over 2 days)
Budget
₹637 – ₹1,108
Age
16+
State
Andhra Pradesh

Materials

  • Plain cotton canvas tote bag, 12 x 14 inch
  • Harad (myrobalan or haritaki) powder, 100 g
  • Fabric paints incl. black, red, indigo or blue, green, yellow
  • Fine round brushes, sizes 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6
  • Bamboo skewer, cotton wool and thread (for the kalam)
  • Pencil, card to put inside the bag, masking tape
  • Iron, thin cotton cloth, gloves and apron

Steps

  1. Wash and iron the plain cotton tote bag
    Wash the tote in plain water with a little detergent and no fabric softener, because softener blocks paint. Dry it in the shade and iron it flat on the cotton setting. The bag should have no creases, so the lines you draw later stay straight. Common mistake: painting on a new bag without washing it, because the starch in new cloth makes the paint bead up.
    Tip: Wash it before you buy the paints, so you are not tempted to skip this step.
  2. Soak the bag in harad (myrobalan) water and dry it
    Put on gloves and an apron, because harad stains. Stir 1 tablespoon (about 7 g) of harad powder into 500 ml of warm water, let it settle for 5 minutes and strain it through a thin cloth. Soak the bag in this yellowish liquid for 30 minutes, wring it out and dry it in shade. This is the traditional first treatment in Kalamkari that helps cotton take colour. The bag will turn a faint cream colour. Common mistake: drying it in strong sun, which makes the stain patchy.
    Tip: Do this in a bucket or an old steel bowl, since harad can stain plastic and sinks.
  3. Cover your table and put a card inside the bag
    Spread newspaper on the table and wear your apron. Slide a piece of cardboard, about 30 by 30 cm, inside the bag so that the paint cannot seep through to the other side. Pull the cloth flat over the card and hold the edges down with masking tape. A flat, tight surface is the key to neat lines. Common mistake: painting on a bag that has air pockets or folds, because paint pools in the creases.
  4. Sketch your design lightly with a pencil
    Draw a Tree of Life, a peacock or a leaf border on the front of the bag, about 20 cm tall, with a soft pencil. Begin with the big shapes: a trunk, a curved branch on each side, then add leaves and birds. Press very lightly, because pencil marks on cloth are hard to remove. Kalamkari uses lots of small repeated motifs like leaves, dots and flowers, so fill most of the space. Common mistake: drawing too small and leaving too little room for the pen details.
    Tip: Look at a Kalamkari picture on your phone and copy its basic shapes.
  5. Make your kalam from a bamboo skewer and cotton wool
    Pull a small piece of cotton wool, about 1 cm across, and tie it round the sharpened tip of a bamboo skewer with thread so it makes a small soft ball. Dip the ball into black fabric paint and wipe off the extra on the edge of the plate. Practise on a scrap of cotton: draw a line, a curve and a dot. The cotton holds a drop of paint that flows as you draw. Common mistake: loading too much paint, which makes blobs. Test until the line is steady.
  6. Draw the outlines with black fabric paint
    Trace over your pencil lines with the kalam, going slowly with a steady hand. Keep the lines about 2 mm thick and finish a whole shape before you lift the kalam. If you smudge, leave it, because mistakes can be turned into a leaf or a dot later. Work from the top of the bag downward so your hand stays off wet lines. Let the outline dry for 1 hour before you fill in the colours.
    Tip: Rest your drawing wrist on a clean sheet of paper so it does not drag through the paint.
  7. Fill the shapes with flat colour, one colour at a time
    Use a fine brush (size 0 or 2) to fill the shapes with red, indigo blue, green and mustard yellow. Complete one colour everywhere before you wash the brush and move to the next, so the colours do not muddy each other. Keep the paint thick enough to cover but not so thick that it cracks, and leave the black outlines visible. Colour inside the lines, not on top. A muted, earthy palette looks more traditional than bright primary colours.
    Tip: Rinse the brush in a jar of water and dab it dry on a rag before each new colour.
  8. Add the fine details with the kalam
    When the colours are dry to the touch (about 1 hour), go back with the kalam and black paint. Add veins to the leaves, a ring of dots around the flowers and short feather lines on the birds. These small details are what make Kalamkari look rich. Work lightly and do not fill every space. Stop when it starts to feel crowded. Common mistake: adding too much detail and losing the clean shapes.
  9. Let the bag dry flat for 24 hours
    Remove the tape and the cardboard only when the paint feels dry. Lay the bag flat on a clean surface in a shady, airy place for a full 24 hours. Do not fold it, stack things on top or hang it, because wet paint can stick to itself and drip. Paint that looks dry can still be soft underneath. Common mistake: ironing too early, which smears the colours.
  10. Heat-set the paint with an iron (adults only)
    An adult should set the iron to the cotton setting with no steam. Place a thin cotton cloth over the painted area and press with the iron for 3 to 4 minutes, moving it slowly and not leaving it in one spot. You can also iron from the inside of the bag. This step makes the paint wash-safe. Common mistake: ironing directly on the paint, which can stick and burn.
    Tip: Keep the iron moving in small circles over the cloth.
  11. Wash it by hand in cold water the first time
    Fill a bucket with cold water and a little mild soap, turn the bag inside out and swish it gently for a minute. Do not scrub or wring the painted area. Rinse in cold water and dry it in the shade, flat. After the first wash you can wash it by hand in the same way whenever it is dirty. Colours that bleed a little on the first wash usually stop afterwards.

Sustainability

Medium - reuses a plain cotton tote. Traditional Kalamkari uses natural dyes; this version uses fabric paint, which is plastic-based

Safety

Myrobalan (harad) solution stains; fabric paint stains permanently; hot iron burns, so adults only; ventilate; wear gloves and an apron