Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Shibori Love

Last night, I fell in love with Shibori!

 
 
And, it all started with this photo!
 
What is Shibori? 
 
Shibori is a Japanese tie-dying technique!
 
In Japan, the earliest known example of cloth dyed with a shibori technique dates from the 8th century!
 
 
 
 
Shibori is almost exactly like tye-dying, in that each way that you bind, stitch, fold, twist, or press the fabric before you dye it, will ultimately become a work of art with each finished piece when unfolded, or untwisted, reveals it's unique pattern. Except the difference being, Shibori is traditionally dyed with Indigo. A dye that needs oxygen to transform the cloth, which in the beginning starts off green and over a short period of time, will turn Indigo blue!
 
Here are some of the common tecniques:
 
Kanoko shibori- Much like the tye dying here in the West, you bind the cloth, which will result in random circles.
 
Miura shibori- Using thread to stitch, make loops and bind the cloth results in a water like pattern. No knots are used, making it easy to bind and unbind.
 
Kumo shibori- This technique involves pleating and bounding very evenly, creating a spider-like designs.
 
Nui shibori- Again, using thread, a running stitch is used, to create a desired pattern, then pulled very tight and knotted.
 
Arashi shibori- This is known as the pole wrapping technique. I've been looking up tutorials on YouTube, and this technique I found, consists of using a PVC pipe to wrap the cloth around. Then the cloth is wrapped with thread and scrunched around the pole. This results in patterns that are storm like, since the Japanese word for storm is Arashi.
 
Itajime shibori- Known as the shape resistant technique, the cloth is folded evenly, and sandwhiched between two pieces of wood, to prevent the dye from getting to the cloth that they cover
 
Information provide by Wikipedia!
 
 
What I love most about it is that it is bright blue and white!
 
Apparently, it's making a comeback! Thank goodness, because I've been tossing around the idea of making Ombre curtains for my Great Room, but as it happens, I don't really need them right now, because on that side of our house is a green belt area, lined with trees, and they provide enough shade for the room, that even with all of the Summer sun, it receives the perfect amount of natural light!
 
That leaves me searching for a project that involved a bright indigo color, with a pattern that could be transformed into a conversation piece.
 
Another reason, why I fell in love with Shibori, is the history behind it. It isn't a trend that has come and gone, it's been around for centuries.
 
You know me, I don't have an artistic bone in my body, but when the opportunity presents itself, I accept the challenge to create something!
 
I think I narrowed down the projects to complement my Nana's Dining room table, that when family came over this weekend, it brought tears to our eyes to sit down all together once again around Nana's table!
 
Keep an eye out for the Shibori project I am working on!
 

Cephalopod shibori

Wishing you all a terrific week!
Until next time!
xo Christine

 
Shibori finds: (affiliate links) 
 

 

Cherishing A Sweet Life

1 comment:

  1. Okay, now you have "spread the love"....how beautiful!! I cannot wait to see how your project turns out!!

    ReplyDelete