Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Indigo dyeing workshop, part III: Pole wrapping

I am still savoring the memories from last month's shibori dyeing workshop.  On the second day, we learned a couple of different pole-wrapping techniques.  Here's Akemi's bokashi demo, in which she added a couple of pleats to take up extra fabric width, and then scrunched the fabric up on a piece of PVC pipe, with a twist for added interest:


I was a little afraid of pole-wrapping, since a friend of mine tried it once and found it difficult to wrap the fabric tightly enough.  But I tried two different techniques and loved, loved, loved the results.  Here's a peek at my arashi sample, dyed onto a lightweight organic cotton:


Can you guess how I prepared the fabric?  I pleated it back and forth lengthwise, wrapped it around the pole at an angle, tied it with some linen twine for the resist, and then scrunched it up onto the PVC pipe before sticking it into the dye bath.  As you can see from the photograph, the part that was on the outside took up the most color, while the innermost layer just took up a little bit of the indigo.

Everyone at the workshop had a blank habotai silk scarf, and I decided to use bokashi shibori to dye mine.  I didn't want big, solid borders, so I followed Akemi's example and put in a couple of lengthwise pleats before basting the scarf into a tube and scrunching it up onto the pole.  The basic process was simple, and I absolutely love the result:


I'm already dreaming about the quilts I can make after I dye some more cotton shibori fabrics in indigo.

7 comments:

  1. What a fun.fun project! I can tell you are enjoying yourself in all that vibrancy!

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  2. Gorgeous fabrics! I'm looking forward to seeing your new creations.

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  3. I find it hard to cut up the fabric when it turns out so beautifully. Enjoy!

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  4. These look awesome! Great job!

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  5. I took a natural dying workshop this summer and it too was such fun. I did a couple of the scarves too. I love yours!

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  6. That looks like a great method, and something to add to the top of my must-try list. You certainly got excellent results!

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  7. So lovely! :)
    Greetings from Finland!
    Hugs, Ulla

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