M2-Chapter 6 - Patterned Fabrics

All the following samples were done on cotton using Procion Jet Black

Some patterns were taken from the following books:
Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist DyeingShibori for Textile Artists by Janice Gunner

Tritik Shibori

I used a cotton thread to gather the fabric
from left to right:
A: simple gathering horizontally
B: the fabric was folded before being gathered
C: gathered in wavy lines


Tritik Shibori
D: gathered vertically and horizontally
E: the fabric was "wrapped" around the needle
F: wrapped around a thick thread and then gathered


Arashi Shibori
G: unthickened dye
H: thickened Procion dye and finer cotton fabric

Tritik Shibori

I: The fabric was stitched twice to form little "houses", like in the tortoise pattern. It was then gathered around a soy bean in the middle. The thickened dye was applied with a brush.

This is definitely my favourite and it will be hard for me to cut it up.


Tie and Dye

J: The fabric was pleated vertically and held by big bull-dog clip
K: Fabric "zig zag" pleated and held by finer bull-dog clip


Tie and Dye
L and M: pleated and held with bull-dog clip

Arashi Shibori

N: commercial black fabric was discharged with Jacquard discharge paste which produced an interesting brown pattern

Tritik Shibori:

O: Here the Procion dyed fabric was stitched diagonally and then discharged with Jacquard discharge paste

It is interesting to see, that commercial discharged fabric turns to a brown colour, whereas, Procion dyed black fabric becomes white the more steam you apply to it.

General remarks:

When dyeing with Procion dyes, the pattern remains crisper when the dye is thickened and the fabric is dry. In this case it has to be soaked in soda ash and then dried.

In Tritik Shibori, it is recommended not to immerse the fabric totally into the dye bath, but to apply it (if possible) with a brush. Immersing the fabric produces darker fabrics.

It's probably also easier to work with finer fabric for this kind of fabric patterning

Health and Safety Considerations:

For dyeing with Procion dyes:

-Wear appropriate clothes and gloves (without holes)

- As the dyes come in powder form, it is important not to inhale the fine dust during the mixing process

For discharing fabric with Discharge paste:

If possible do this outside, as it is very smelly