Bingata…what next?

Ok, remember this?  It’s been drying on my desk for three days and it was time to soak the glutinous rice glue off.  We were given the instructions in Japanese and English and so I followed them to the letter.  Almost

Having ironed the reverse side of the design, I soaked it in lukewarm water for a while.  It seemed to be coming away pretty quickly, so I didn’t leave it for the 3 to 4 hours suggested, but ran it under the tap and watched as it was washed away.

At this stage, there was still a faint rectangle where the glue resist had been (that’s a really difficult phrase for a Japanese speaker to say – “Glue Resist”!) so I swished it around a little more and finally it seemed to have disappeared.

Right now, I’m making good use of the washing line in the bathroom!  I’ll give it a final iron later and will maybe take it to dinner.  Whatever, I feel very proud of my completed bag, which looks rather sweet.  What a nice souvenir of Okinawa!