I. Introduction
After thousands years of inheritance and development, the traditional tie-dyeing process has a long history, widely spreads in the field of fashion design in the world and has a far-reaching impact. At present, tie-dyed fabrics have unique beauty and interest, and are highly praised by fashion designers and craft lovers both in the East and the West.
Scholars in many countries, such as China, South Korea and Japan, have conducted a lot of in-depth research on traditional tie-dyeing technique and achieved rich achievements. Among them, Chinese scholars Ye Zhiyong and Zhang Liqin made experimental analysis on traditional tie-dyeing by using modern materials and processes, and put forward new tie-dyeing techniques. Korean scholars Park Sunghee, Hong Nayoung, and Park Youngmi have made a comprehensive analysis of tie-dyeing techniques in different periods of Korea from a historical perspective. Japanese scholar Motohiko Katano has made a comprehensive analysis of “Sanpu twist-dyeing”, “moire twist-dyeing” and the other Japanese traditional tie-dyeing techniques, and put forward the innovation of contemporary Japanese tie-dyeing process methods.
The traditional tie-dyeing methods mainly include: needle and thread string binding tie-dyeing, direct binding tie-dyeing, random tie-dyeing, and clamp-dyeing, etc. Among them, clamp-dyeing is one of the most common tie-dyeing method in Asia. Clampdyeing method has the characteristics of simple tools and convenient process implementation, and can present solid or hazy patterns through the different strength of “clamping” ways, so as to create the artistic conception of wash painting (Cui, Chen, & Wang, 2020). However, the traditional clamp-dyeing method has obvious singleness and limitations in clamp tools and pattern styles. Obviously, with the continuous development of science and technology, the traditional tie-dyeing handicraft methods have been continuously promoted that resulting in many new tie-dyeing methods and meet the current social needs. As a hot spot in international research field, 3D printing technology has become an effective means to lead the transformation and expansion of many traditional industries, such as the field of fashion design.
Through literature investigation and material experiment, SLS method was finally selected as the 3D printing method of clamp-dyeing tool in this paper. In terms of the selection of 3D materials, this study conducted a segmented experiment on “7000 Nylon” materials by combining the characteristics of traditional clamp-dyeing tools and processes, and designed a new clamp-dyeing tool that meets the needs of “refinement, personalization and customization” in the current fashion field. This study inherits the traditional tie-dyeing process and carries out the practical application of tie-dyeing through the new clamping method tools, so as to break through the limitations of the traditional clamp-dyeing methods and form diversified patterns, which meets the needs of the development of current fashion design.
Ⅱ. Clamp-dyeing Tool Design Based on 3D Printing Technology
As a new way of creation, 3D printing technology is based on the digital model files which uses powdered metal, plastic and other bindable materials to construct object form by printing layer by layer. It has the characteristics of high precision, fast forming and meeting individual needs (Han, 2013). With the rapid development of 3D printing materials, the product moulds of various industries have also rapidly transformed from traditional mold manufacture to 3D printing manufacture, such as medical equipment, construct parts and fashion accessories (Bitonti, 2019). Especially with the rapid development of AI, Big Data and other technologies, the application and development trend of 3D printing technology has gradually shown the characteristics of data intelligence, material diversification, application popularization and price popularization (Yan & Huang, 2021). Obviously the innovative development of traditional clamp-dyeing tools is in line with the development and application of 3D printing technology under the personalized needs of the fashion industry.
In the field of 3D printing technology, it is mainly divided into 5 types: Fused deposition modeling (FDM), laminated object manufacturing (LOM), stereo lithography apparatus (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), and selective laser melting (SLM) (Hu, Hu, & Li, 2016). Among them, SLS is to adopt infrared laser as the energy source to selectively sinter solid powders in layers, and to make a cure layer formed by sintering, then to stack generates parts of desired shape layer by layer. The whole process includes CAD model building and data processing, powder plating, sintering as well as post-processing. The most prominent advantage of the SLS method that over other printing techniques is the wide range of molding materials (Feng & Zhang, 2020). Theoretically, any powder material is capable of forming interatomic bonds after heating could serve as a forming material for the method of SLS. Currently, the materials which can be successfully processed by SLS moldings are paraffin, polymer, metal, ceramic powders and other composite powders (Zhu, 2021). SLS will be more and widely used in the future because of many kinds of molding materials, saves materials, and widely distributes the properties of molded parts, it is suitable for a variety of purposes, and does not need to design and manufacture complex support systems (Beecroft, 2018). Obviously the method of SLS is able to meet the features such as individualization, precision and low cost of fabric tie-dyeing tool in fashion design from the practicality and economy of 3D printing technology.
On the selection of 3D printing materials, this study takes into full consideration factors such as cost, appearance, details, mechanical properties, mechanical properties, chemical robustness, and special application environments of the material, and finally adopts the “7000 Nylon” material which is common to 3D printing. “7000 Nylon” is sintered from powder material, and the surface is particulate which has excellent characteristics of high temperature resistance, not easily deformation and light. The specific parameters of “7000 Nylon” (Wang, Ling, & Guan, 2021) are shown in <Table 1>.
From the comparison of performance parameters of “7000 Nylon” material with other types of materials, this material has benign features such as high thermal deformation temperature, high temperature resistance, toughness, and strength, which is especially suitable for manual clamping operation under high temperature heat and humidity conditions (Table 2). Thus, the “7000 Nylon” material has the natural advantage for making mini modular clamp-dyeing tool, which meet the demand of high temperature resistance and less deformability in fabric tie-dyeing (Wei, 2020).
Model size design is an important link of 3D printing, which is related to the consistency between components and the effect of overall appearance, and will also directly affect the function and processing cost. Actually, the rules of dimension design are based on the requirements of practical application. In addition to the requirements of bearing capacity, stiffness and stability, the tool should also meet the requirements of component quality, production process, tool assembly and disassembly, turnover times, etc. (Liu, 2013). As a micro mould set clamp-dyeing tool for fabric tie-dyeing design, it can be used in the smallscale and high-temperature tie-dyeing environment with complex program and then make fine production. Furthermore, the size requirement of the tool is miniature, fine and oxidation resistance.
Meanwhile the development of micro modular clamp-dyeing tools also needs to fully consider the family tie-dyeing operation environment of ordinary hand-made lovers. So the products are required to be moderate size and can be placed into stainless steel containers of ordinary household washing containers, possess simple operation and economic applicability. Therefore, on the basis of the size design and the actual needs, this set of clamp-dyeing tool was designed in a way of division and combination, mainly around the visual image of heart-shape. As a cultural symbol commonly recognized by worldwide countries, heartshape is an international visual image with high recognition, represents love and spirit, and is widely used in the field of fashion. In the combination of this new clamp-dyeing tool, it can freely combine 64 different tie-dyeing patterns after accurate calculation and experimental verification which meets the personalized needs of modern fabric design. Precisely, the total length of the complete set of tools is 12cm and the width is 12cm. The spread size of the longest edge of the individual sections was no more than 36.5cm if it fully connected. The cut was made at the gold split ratio (0.618) of left and right 12cm above and below the whole to form 6 exquisite Micro modules with varied modeling and visual comfort. After the 6 independent delicate micro blocks were combined, they would become a big tool in the shape of a heart, and show the novelty of the design, which would make the vast majority of the people who loved the clamp-dyeing handcraft feel cute and kind. Specific data and combination styles are shown in <Fig. 1>, <Fig. 2>.
Ⅲ. Design Features and Advantages of the New Clamp-dyeing Tool
From the perspective of traditional technological process, the most representative of the traditional tie-dyeing tools should belong to the minority tribes in Asia, such as Miao and Buyi in Yunnan, Guizhou and other places. In these areas where the minority lived, most of the tie-dyeing tools were made from local camphor wood, spruce and other miscellaneous wood, which were rough and easy to wear (Zhang, Qu, & Kim, 2021). As for the dye effect of the fabric, limited by the traditional tie-dyeing tools, most of the dye patterns were fixed traditional patterns which were easy to form aesthetic fatigue. The new clampdyeing tool combines the uniqueness of the traditional clamp-dyeing process with the development of 3D printing technology. Starting from the tool model and material cost, it carries out the innovative design of modern and traditional clamp-dyeing process that forms the aesthetic characteristics. It is not only retaining the effect of traditional clamping and dyeing, but also presenting the appearance of modern design.
1. Diversified combination
In order to form a rich texture of intercalation dyeing, the innovation of selection tools of clampdyeing method is also one of the causes in addition to the integration of process production and material characteristics (Noorizan & Shak, 2014). The material used in the traditional clamp-dyeing is a wooden thin plate. The edge of the pattern shows a hard boundary pattern after dyeing (Song & Geum, 2016). In this study, the clamp-dyeing tool material is the polymer “7000 Nylon” material, which is flexible, easy to shape, high temperature resistant, soft and light. Under the appropriate clamping force, the dyestuff will penetrate inward by itself, then resulting in a soft texture state with bright middle and haloed edge color, when using this set of tools for clamp-dyeing. In the process of practice, this study continues to think about how to innovate, break the convention, break through the traditional clip dyeing pattern and enrich the pattern style. Therefore, the way to design a set of novel and interesting dyeing tools has always been the direction of the author’s thinking. The completion of the new clamp-dyeing tool solves the uninteresting of the pattern created by the simple use of clips, wooden sticks and rubber bands in the traditional clip dyeing way which enriches the interest of the clip dyeing pattern, and makes the picture to show heart-shape, circular, triangular and various irregular geometric figures.
From the view of existing clamp-dyeing tools, the traditional clamping ways are not only simple but also lack flexibility due to the influence of stuffy materials and styles. At present, the common clamping and dyeing tools on the market are mainly square, round and petal shaped. The clamping and dyeing effects are mainly regular geometric patterns or abstract patterns, and the pattern style is dull and boring, so it is impossible to carry out a new creative combination. The micro modular clamp-dyeing tool is mainly characterized by flexibility, lightness and change, emphasizing the diversity and richness of tie-dyeing process and effect. Under the modern fabric pattern design, this set of tools not only breaks the formal limitations of the traditional folder dyeing tools, but also further makes up for the dull pattern and monotonous graphics of the traditional clamp-dyeing effect that enriching and innovating the tie-dyeing culture. In terms of combination method, the tool is mainly divided into two combination ways: 1. single set of tool combination clamp-dyeing; 2. multiple sets of many tools combination clamp-dyeing. Among them, the single set of tool combination dyeing method is to change and combine a single group of 6 micro modules, emphasizing the similarity between forms and objects, such as love, leaves, mushroom and so on. At the same time, the set of tools is composed of 6 parts, which can not only be split and reconstituted into lively patterns such as expression graphics, animal and plant graphics and life graphics, but also be freely combined into any favorite patterns according to the design needs of traditional crafts lovers. Therefore, the patterns that can be completed by these six parts are ever-changing. With the different placement of the clamp-dyeing tools, the fabric will dyed into beautiful patterns with different combination ways, as shown in <Fig. 3>.
In terms of combination of many sets of tools dyeing effect, the new clamp-dyeing tools will take 3 or more sets of micro clamp-dyeing tools as the combination object, and more abundant clamping and dyeing styles will be combined through more parts of tools. At the same time, multiple sets of combined tools are more suitable for tie-dyeing of large-size fabrics. In principle, multiple sets of tools can be repeatedly arranged to dye various beautiful patterns, such as two-way continuous patterns, large independent patterns and similar patterns with more details, as shown in <Fig 4>.
2. Easy to carry and use
The traditional clamp-dyeing tools based on wood will be polluted by dyes and form stains in their perennial use, which is easy to cause damage and become heavy. Miao villages in Yunnan, Guizhou and other places in China, the first procedure of fabric clamping and dyeing production process is to spend a lot of time try to repair and clean the clamping and dyeing tools, and restore the clamp-dyeing tools to a good state that avoid incomplete patterns and uneven colors (Ye, 1994). Under the 3D printing technology, this micro modular clamp-dyeing tool makes full use of the characteristics of the “7000 Nylon” material, pays attention to the characteristics of personalized demand, wear resistance and economic applicability, and presents an extremely simple and orderly combination effect as a whole, as shown in <Fig. 5>. The size design of this clamp-dyeing tool set fully takes into account the manual demand and market promotion demand. When the tools are combined, the length and width are 12cm and the weight is only 150g. Therefore, it is easy to carry and operate whether used in fabric design or handicraft, so it has certain potential of market promotion.
Ⅳ. Application Method of New Clamp-dyeing Tool
Compared with the traditional clamp-dyeing process, the new 3D micro modular clamp-dyeing tool is more flexible and portable in the practical application of clamp-dyeing process (Kim, 2016). Due to the characteristics of materials and 3D printing, this set of tools can be widely used in the folder dyeing of clothing fabrics such as cotton, hemp, silk and some chemical fibers, which can effectively avoid the disadvantages of damaging cloth or color mixing in traditional clamp-dyeing (Zhou & Wang, 2015). The specific application method and principle of the new micro clamp-dyeing tool are basically consistent with the traditional clamping and dyeing method. The specific operation steps are as follows: (1) fold and combine the cloth according to a certain law after washing and ironing. (2) Symmetrical tools shall be placed at the front and back of the cloth according to the design requirements. (3) Use slender wooden stick or stainless steel strip for clamping. Use cotton rope to tie and fix the two relatively symmetrical sticks when clamping. (4) Dyeing: the dye solution should be prepared (the dye solution shall be sufficient to immerse the splint). When it is heated to 80℃ -95℃, the clamped fabric shall be immersed in the dye solution (Kim & Kim, 2020). Dye with acid dye for 20-25 minutes. When dyeing with direct dyes for 15 minutes, add half of the salt, continue dyeing for 15 minutes, then add the other half of the salt, and continue dyeing for about 15 minutes (Chen, 2008). Take it out naturally and iron it flat after cooling. This clamping method is very convenient. According to the law of density and length change, the anti folded fabric can be clamped freely. Various symmetrical two-way continuous patterns or four-way continuous patterns can be realized after dyeing. The application fixing method of clamp-dyeing tool in actual fabric dyeing is shown in <Fig. 6>.
With the accelerated pace of modern life, people are tired of over industrialized products. More and more people like handmade daily necessities (Yeo, 2017). Therefore, tie-dyeing products with traditional manual beauty have been very popular in the market in recent years. As a dyeing method in tie-dyeing, clamp-dyeing is often used in personalized daily necessities, such as pillow, coaster, screen, table cloth and so on. From the application comparison of clampdyeing, the new clamp-dyeing tool as a product of the current 3D printing technology has a great effect in practical application. On the one hand, the new clamp-dyeing tool can well control the edge effect of fabric pattern according to the actual needs of dyeing, so it can achieve the expected dyeing effect. On the other hand, the combination effect of the new clampdyeing pattern is very vivid, which well expresses the aesthetic meaning of the traditional dyeing. In this paper, taking the repeated combination of a single set of new clamp-dyeing tools as the experimental object, five dyeing steps are carried out on the fabric to form the dyeing pattern effects of two different combination models, as shown in <Fig. 7>.
Through the practical application results of clampdyeing, it can be seen that the fabric patterns dyed by the new clamp-dyeing tool have the characteristics of clear pattern, lively design and elegant appearance. The leaf-like four-way continuous pattern composed of a single set of tools is simple, gentle, natural and friendly (Zhang, 2018). The two-way continuous pattern composed of multiple sets of tools has both traditional and modern aesthetic characteristics which is beautiful and generous.
Ⅴ. Conclusion
Traditional crafts need persistence and innovation. The innovation of clamp-dyeing process is the best protection means for the development and inheritance of traditional crafts. Only continuous innovation can attract more people to love clamp-dyeing, a traditional handicraft with a sense of history and unique charm, so as to inherit the beautiful handicraft forever. As a pattern dyeing technique in traditional tie-dyeing, clamp-dyeing has been gradually far away from modern people's daily life, but it is still followed by fashion and fabric designers or handcraft lovers all over the world. Nowadays various “black technologies” continue to refresh people’s eyes, and 3D printing technology has been widely used in various fields with the rapid development of digitization.
SLS 3D printing technology has the characteristics of rapid prototyping, simple fabrication and low cost. Combined with the new “7000 Nylon” material is sintered from powder material with the characteristic of granular surface, high temperature resistance, not easy to deform and light material, which conformed to the requirements of this new clamp-dyeing research process. In terms of modeling design, the modular way of the new clamp-dyeing tools can be combined arbitrarily and varied, which meets the needs of the current clothing fabrics to pursue fashion and personality. At the same time, in practical application, the new tools can be widely used in the clamp-dyeing of fabrics such as cotton, hemp, real silk and some chemical fibers. The application method and principle can be consistent with the traditional clamp-dyeing process. Facing the era of advocating individuality, the improvement of traditional craft tools for clampdyeing has undoubtedly greatly enriched the current popular fashion fabric features from digital technology.
The development of new dyeing tools based on this principle can also derive and expand a variety of mold solutions, such as customizing many kinds of ingeniously designed cartoon patterns, promoting this research in the art education of primary and secondary schools, enhancing the fun of tie-dyeing courses, and letting people accept the charm of traditional aesthetic under the new concept.
The fabric dyed by this new dyeing mold can be used in many textile products, such as various kinds of clothing, pillow, table runner, tablecloth, coaster, screen, etc. So it will show the practical characteristics of beautiful appearance and wide application. Therefore, the design and development of this research is not only the inheritance and innovation of traditional dyeing technology but also broadens the design ideas of textile products, which has broad market prospects.
