The First Steps

A dyer is nothing if not a multitasker. It always seems as if a dying project begins with several first steps: the fabric or yarn has to be prepared to dye and the dye bath has to be prepared for the fabric. In class, we started scouring baths to clean the fabrics in large stainless steel pots that were heated on an enormous outdoor gas stove.

While the fabrics simmered on the stove, we began stitching other pieces of fabric in a variety of traditional Japanese patterns. We stitched, pulled the stitching tightly into gathers and tied the gathering threads tightly.

 Stitched lines for mokume pattern, with threads waiting to be pulled.

Threads pulled tight for "karamatsu" pattern, but not yet knotted. The blue stitching lines have been drawn in water soluble marking pen; when dipped into cold water for soaking they will disappear.

The pulled threads have been tied tightly and long ends clipped. The stitched fabrics shown here will be dyed in an indigo vat; the fiber content of the samples is cotton, rayon or bamboo. Before the fabrics are dyed, they are soaked in plain cold water for at least an hour but as much as 24 hours to aid in the production of sharply-defined patterns of dye on fabric.

 These books, along with Vivien Prideaux's A Handbook of Indigo Dyeing, contain diagrams for stitching and clamping a variety of traditional and contemporary patterns. The stitching is time-consuming but very easy for both beginners and experienced dyers to accomplish.

I thought I had purchased all of the shibori books that I needed, but an Arrowmont classmate, Frances Moore, suggested finding this one. Frances is a dye experienced in using natural dyes, and she had been accurate in other observations in class, so I took her at her word. Prideaux's book contains information and dye formulations that do not appear in other references, so I'm glad she suggested that I add it to my (growing) collection.