Shibori Love Day 1

I found a new love and appreciation for Indigo and Shibori. However, as a warning, I am a newbie and learning about the process as I go.  If you’ve taken one of my classes, you know I love the WHY products work and how to best use them.  So, I’m currently in the assimilation phase for Indigo dye and Shibori.  I am no expert.

I spent three days as a student in an Indigo/Shibori class. It was refreshing to get out and attend a class with other creative artists and so good for my creative muse to take a class that wouldn’t normally be considered ‘in my wheelhouse’ and was something new to me.

What is Scour?

I had homework before I even started class.  One thing listed in student supplies was pre-scoured fabric. We needed to bring swatches of fabric to experiment with and/or set of napkins and it was optional to bring other wearable pieces to dye. I went shopping for a set of linen napkins and cotton pillowcases.  Everything else I found in my stash; muslin fabric, old blouse, and white t-shirt.

Aya Fiber Studio provided link with instructions for scouring – basically you need to remove any wax, residue, dirt, buildup, etc from your fabric so it will take the dye better.   

I bought my synthrapol and soda ash from Amazon.

After my products arrived, I followed the instructions provided by the studio.  You can see those here>> Aya Studio Scour Instructions. 

Following the above instructions, I simmered my fabric pieces in a very large stock pot.  I was surprised at how brown the water turned.  That showed me that it was working as it removed the buildup from my samples.   After that, I rinsed all the fabric very well and let it air dry the day before class.  

I’m ready to learn about Shibori and Indigo!

Where did I go?

I was excited to find a local fiber arts studio, Aya Fiber Studio, in Stuart, Florida.   Aya Fiber Studio has amazing instructors from all over the world come and teach different fiber art classes.  I’m truly honored to be included in that list as I’ll be teaching my Powertex Figurine Sculpture class there December 8, 2018 and again February 16, 2019.

I’m eager to return to Aya Fiber Studio Dec 8 and Feb 16 to teach my Powertex Figurine Sculpture Class.   For more information and/or to register for one (or both) of these classes, you can visit Aya Studio and register.   And yes, even if you’ve taken the figurine class before, this is one you can take again as you never make the same figurine twice.

What is Indigo?

Most Indigo used today is a synthetic indigo.  Those blue jeans you are wearing are not real natural indigo!  As I found out, it’s easier to buy and work with the synthetic pre-reduced indigo; though I’m fascinated with the natural organic indigo and would love to learn more.  Here is a great video introduction on natural indigo.

The pre-reduced indigo vat was much more stable, but had an ammonia smell.  Whereas the natural indigo vat had more of an earthy smell and seemed a little temperamental (kind of reminded me of a sourdough starter).  In just a few hours the pre-reduced indigo vat can be ready to use  whereas the natural organic vat can take 24-72 hours before it’s ready.  If you learn how to keep them happy they can each be ‘fed’ and kept going for a while. 

We spent the first day learning differences between the natural organic indigo and the pre-reduced synthetic indigo and how to create the different vats. 

What is Shibori?

Shibori is an ancient Japanese form of resist fabric dyeing using primarily indigo dye.  There are many different types of Shibori pattern making techniques.  Resist patterns are created by stitching, tying, blocking, wrapping, crumpling, binding, folding, and many other techniques.  The fabric is then dipped multiple times in an indigo dye vat.

Learn Shibori Patterns

We then discussed quite a few of the different shibori pattern techniques.  Each technique actually has a different name – many of these are japanese.  Here are just a few discussed – but do some research because there are many different pattern techniques.

• itajime shibori –  a shape resist technique where you fold the fabric in sections or pleat the fabric and then block off an area with a shape and clamp the shape to create a pressure resist.  I dyed a set of pillowcases using this technique with circle blocks of wood and I loved the pattern I was able to get using clothespins and binders with this technique.  
• arashi shibori – a pole wrapping technique.  Wrap fabric diagonally around pole or pvc and then wrap tightly with twine or string before scrunching it all together .  One of my napkins was created with this technique. 
• nui shibori – so many designs can be created by creating a running  stitch pattern that is then gathered and tied tightly on both ends with a knot before dying – see my horse’s teeth for one example. 
• nemaki shibori – is binding your fabric around objects.  I wrapped pebbles and bound them with rubber bands.  Will definitely try that again.  
• tatsumaki shibori – fabric is pleated over a flexible core such as rope and then scrunched and tied tightly before dying.  My scarf was created using this technique.  

Try to Create Shibori Patterns

In the top left corner of the photo above, you can see the nemaki shibori pattern I tried where I wrapped the fabric over pebbles and secured them with rubber bands.  As seen in the top left corner, I wrapped fabric around a slinky that was held open (yes, you need an assistant for this one) and then you let the shrinky close trapping the fabric inside the slinky rings.  The bottom left photo is an itajime pattern where the fabric was folded, pressed, and blocked with two circles before being clamped with pressure. The remaining photos included a tatsumaki technique and different tying techniques just to experiment.

That ‘wrapped’ up of Day 1 of the Indigo Shibori class.  Don’t miss Shibori Love Day 2 and Day 3.

Want to learn more about creating your own indigo vats?  Check out one of these books below…