Thursday, September 23, 2010

Shibori dyeing...

Whilst not really vintage, rather a tradition, I thought I would share with you my latest obsession...
Shibori dyeing.

I have tried this technique twice, with a huge improvement in results - so now I am obsessing about what can I dye next ?

We made this top at school, and were encouraged to dye, or embellish, it after it was graded. I folded it up into a rectangle, and tied it with string between two smaller rectangles of timber. However, the string did not apply enough pressure to keep the dye from penetrating beneath the timber, so it is not really 'resist dyed'.

For my second attempt I clamped the timber, after folding the fabric 'concertina-style', and the 'resist' worked much better...


The final result is slightly less stark than this picture because the dye is not colourfast - thus it tinged the white bits pale green after I washed it.

Having said that, though, I am so happy with the result! I think I will make a simple shift dress (or similar) so as to retain the pattern as much as possible.

I will post the result.