Shibori is the Japanese word for a variety of ways 

of embellishing textiles by shaping cloth and 

securing it before dyeing. The word 

comes from the verb root shiboru, 

"to wring, squeeze, press."

Dye pots call...truly they become addictive once you start playing around in them.  You may remember my previous blog on the art of "shibori" - the Japanese method of sewing and bunching, or folding and clamping fabric prior to dying.  Usually done in indigo, shibori produces a wonderful pattern of design using the white of the cloth and the blue of the dye.

we had a lot of fun experimenting

and even threw some folds into the red dye pot

these were just a few of my more authentic shibori pieces 

before they dried

Well, the urge is calling to drag out those dye pots and have another go at it.  It's just so addictive to unwrap the pieces and see what was produced.  But I promised myself to use up some of the fabric I had on hand before making more.  So I settled in to make this happen.

Most of my pieces this time were extra large bandana size so of course placemats came to mind.

The short cut method would be to back them with a pre-quilted fabric and sew the edges for stability.

Aren't they nice?  I used the extra bandanas for napkins.  I think this will make a lovely, and very original table setting.

Plus I can now forge ahead with my folding and clamping for the next day of dye.  I think I will try (with apologies to traditional shibori) some bright turquoise and hot orange this next go round.  And maybe even some colored cloth in addition to the white.  Now I just have to come up with some more ways to use the fabric!  Guess I could get a jump start on Christmas gifts?!

Please try this at home, or contact me and we will do a class.  It's not difficult and the designs are really amazing.  T-shirts, onesies, table runners....what else can we drape and dip??

DYEING FOR MORE,

Cindy