About Shibori:

Shibori is a centuries-old Japanese technique where through a resist (by folding, binding, stitching are a few), a pattern is created on fabric. A bit like tie dye but much more intricate! And with a history that goes back thousands of years. Shibori is often dyed with Indigo due to its unique qualities and depth of colour. The process takes a lot of skill, is very labour intensive and brings stunning results. 

 

The Shibori process:

Starting with a basic white plain (natural) fabric, a variety of techniques like folding and clamping, stitching, binding and wrapping are used to create pockets in the fabric where the dye can’t penetrate. By using these techniques very precisely, it’s possible to create an endless variety of blue and white patterns (or whatever dye you’re using). Indigo requires tending to a ‘live’ indigo vat that needs the right balance of PH, and oxygen for the indigo to be able to bind to fabric. Unlike other dyes, indigo needs many short dips to layer the colour onto the fabric. This makes it possible to create its own unique effects using shades of blue. 

 

About me:

I and from the Netherlands but now live in rural Scotland with my daughter and 3 cats. I have a little shed in the back garden that doubles as my studio, where I love spending time experimenting with all the various Shibori techniques, or finding my own. Dyeing with indigo is challenging and it’s been a steep learning curve to understand ‘the vat’ (a bit like a sourdough starter, you need to keep it balanced and alive). the most exciting of the whole process is when I ‘open up’ a piece that’s gone through the many stages of the process, and I can finally see the results. Often I have a sense of what it might or should look like, but in the end I’m often surprised and usually delighted! Besides indigo I also use Kakishibu, a persimmon dye from Japan, and for more colourful pieces and fasted results I use procion dyes. I use used, scrap, recycled or reused materials wherever possible.