Shibori

Shibori classes are being held all around Long Island this summer. Shibori dyeing is a thousand-year-old Japanese technique that combines origami and tie-dye. When the material is colored, the shaping process reserves sections that are documented as patterns with distinctively soft edges and crinkled textures. Shibori methods, rather than treating fabric as a two-dimensional flat surface, give it a three-dimensional form by folding, crumpling, sewing, plaiting or plucking and twisting. Cloth can be drawn up and bound, stitched and gathered, pleated and bounded, folded and clamped between boards, or wrapped around a pole and pressed along it to compress into folds. Furthermore, a cloth can be colored many times, each time using a different shaping procedure.

ITAJIME TECHNIQUE

Stripes can be created by folding the fabric and inserting wood craft sticks between the folds, then securing it with rubber bands or yarn. After dyeing and removing the sticks and rubber bands, the fabric should be washed in cold water. If you're using natural indigo, you can get a darker color by dipping the fabric in "vat" a few times and letting the dye absorb the color in between dips.

ARASHI TECHNIQUE

By pleating and wrapping a piece of fabric around a craft stick and then scrunching it on the pole, this amazing technique creates a "cloudy sky" effect. "Arashi" is the Japanese word for storm, and the patterns resemble rain or clouds.

NUI TECHNIQUE

The Nui technique incorporates stitching. It is helpful to draw an ornament or shape on the fabric and then thread along the lines. Pull the threads tight after stitching and secure the end. This technique gives you more control over the pattern, but it takes longer.

KUMO TECHNIQUE

We create a spider web design by pleading fabric from the center, adding chickpea in the center, and tightening it with a rubber band. We now know where traditional tye-dye techniques originated.

WORKSHOP AT GALLERY NORTH