Reflections on Shibori for Summer School 2015

 Some inspiring words and pictures from Shibori tutor Cia Bosanquet:

Shibori top in man-made fibre

My travels through India and the Far East have been study tours exploring different weave techniques and dyes. Japan, which I visited in 2005 with the World Shibori Organization, was very different. Shibori is an ancient Japanese dye technique in which the cloth is bound, clamped, stitched and manipulated in many different ways to create patterns on the fabric. Any cloth can be used but silk or cotton are the favourites as both take dye well. The dye was almost always indigo in huge vats as seen in Hiroyuki Shindo’s studio in Miyama and other indigo artists in Arimatsu. Using shibori and heat techniques some synthetic fibres can be manipulated into striking three-dimensional structures.

I bought a scarf which was very different on this trip. Not Japanese but by Catherine Ellis, an American who also was on the tour. She explained how she had realised that by inserting an extra thread into the weft and/or warp whilst weaving and then removing it after dyeing, a new pattern appeared.  Luckily for me she came to a Summer School and I spent a week enjoying her expert tuition.

Silk, wool woven shibori (Madder and Indigo)

I favour plain weave  and  often use old fabrics which have  already had another life. Any original embroidery can be  incorporated in the new design. Rag rugs are part of my Swedish tradition. My home has many and they all have some of my family’s hand-me-downs. Often I dye the rags but also manipulate the warp/weft using the shibori technique to create a different look. I use old fabrics to make new textiles for domestic use. I always have a purpose in making them. They have to be decorative and useful. 

Shibori polyester