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3 Basic Shibori Techniques

7/24/2017

13 Comments

 

3 Basic Shibori Techniques: Kumo, Arashi, Itajime 

Would you like to learn more about Shibori? I bet you might already be familiar with some of the beautiful tie and dye patterns that you can achieve from rings to lines. Many of these gorgeous shape-resist patterns can be achieved in an afternoon at home. Today, I will share 3 amazing Shibori techniques that I highly recommend to enhance or begin your textile design practice. Whether you are just starting out or an experienced designer, I think that you will find these techniques beneficial. 

My favorite Shibori techniques to teach at workshops and in my Natural Dye e-course are Kumo, Arashi and Itajime. I learned about these through reading, lots of experimentation and practice. In this article, I will share my top 3 techniques pictured below with you.
Shibori techniques
Kumo fabric (left) designed by Chris Alves. Arashi and Itajime fabrics (middle & right) designed by Hilary L Hahn.
Before beginning, I gathered all of the supplies that I needed for this project, which included rubber bands, beads, twine and wooden geometric shapes. I will share a more detailed list of all supplies alongside each method and I now offer a free checklist, that you can download:)
Shibori supplies
beads, wooden shapes and tiles
It took me time and effort to pull together all of the supplies when I first started. Below, you can opt-in to receive my downloadable list of Shibori supplies!

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Kumo ShiborI

You are probably most familiar with Kumo Shibori, which means spider-web, and is a way to form a ring or a circle through binding. This technique comes to mind when thinking about colorful tie-dyed t-shirts, but it's origins are rooted in ancient Japan and India. Kumo is the practice of tying and binding found objects, which are often pebbles or stones. Below, you can see how Chris used wooden beads of various sizes to create uniform rings and circles on his tea towel. 
Kumo tie-dye
I suggest marking out your design with a pencil first and placing a dot where you would like center each bead.  I wanted the circles on a grid for the matching t-shirts that I created for my son and his best friend. Next, I made concentric circles at random by tying two rubber bands, one inside the other leaving a narrow space in between. 
​
Kumo supplies:
  • rubber bands
  • toddler white t-shirt (2T-8 yr) I love the quality and thickness of this T-shirt. 
  • Indigo dye kit
  • white wash basins

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tie-dye rings

Arashi Shibori

Next, up is Arashi, a pole dyeing technique. The word Arashi, means storm, and in this technique twine is used to create directional lines. This effect is achieved through wrapping fabric around a dowel or pole, securing it with twine, then dyeing it. For this method, a deeper vat or 3 gallon bucket works well and the fabric can also be scrunched up toward the end of the pole. Below, you can see a pair of white pants, which are wrapped around a dowel. When I submerge the pole, I tend to scrunch the fabric toward one end of the pole. I was amazed at the Shibori results on a silk pocket square that I dyed for my husband's trip to Peru. 
Pole dyeing
Arashi shibori pocket square
Silk pocket square created using Arashi Shibori

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Arashi supplies:
  • Indigo dye kit
  • wash basins
  • wooden dowel 
  • twine 
  • silk pocket square 
  • fabric remnants for practice

Itajime Shibori

A 3rd method is Itajime Shibori, using various folds to pleat the fabric then securing it with shapes. Then shapes are applied to resist the dye leaving the space where the shape is placed in white. Shapes can be cut from a variety of materials including wood, cardboard and plexiglas. 

In the first example, you will see how I folded the fabric, using a basic accordion fold shown here, to make it long and narrow, then I folded a right triangle back and forth. Once it was all folded up, I clamp it using 2 wooden triangles and secure it with rubber bands. 

Please note: I cut these triangles by cutting a rectangle (or square) diagonally in half to form 2 right triangles with 30 and 60 degree angles. 

Itajime supplies: 
  • Indigo dye kit + wash basins
  • Tea towels 
  • cotton fabric remnant
  • rubber bands
  • clamp 
  • Laser cut itajime shapes: full set, triangle set, circle set, or square set
Itajime Shibori
Picture
Itajime Shibori tea towel
For the fabric below, I did the same long accordion fold then clamped the individual squares with a rectangular shape. This allowed more of the fabric to be exposed to the indigo dye, thus more of the fabric became a deep blue, leaving only the rectangle pattern in white. 
Itajime Shibori textile

Shibori Resources

  • Simply Shibori by Fiona Fagan 
  • Stitched Shibori by Jane Callendar
  • The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing by Yoshiko Wada
  • See the full Shibori Resource Guide
I hope you have enjoyed learning a bit about these 3 simple Shibori techniques, you may wish to see a few more posts on Shibori: 
  • Shibori Basics 
  • Shibori Workshop Recap 
  • Hira Nui stitching and Indigo on Procion Dye​
13 Comments
Fiona Fagan
12/11/2017 10:06:45 pm

Thank you for referencing my book Simply Shibori in your blog....great work!

Reply
Hilary L Hahn link
12/12/2017 10:17:06 am

My pleasure, Fiona! Your book is one of my favorites. I just started working with a natural indigo fructose vat and I look forward to sharing more in the new year! cheers!

Reply
Ronda
4/12/2019 04:57:02 pm

I want to use black cotton and use bleach to whitening the edges, do you think it will work?

Reply
Hilary Hahn link
4/13/2019 09:43:33 pm

Hi Ronda,
Yes! I do think that will work and have a cool positive negative shape effect. I have seen many photos where denim is reverse dyed using bleach to create reverse shibori. Be sure to share your results!

Reply
Lee
7/30/2019 09:45:46 am

I’m looking for gauzy, light weight material to use for everyday scarves. I purchased some 28x28 inch flour sack towels from amazon. The texture and finished edges were perfect, I thought, but the size was too small. Is there a supply store you can recommend for finding larger blanks for me to play with? I’m looking for something a minimum of 40” square, or possibly long rectangles.

Reply
Hilary L Hahn link
7/31/2019 10:17:06 pm

Hi Lee!
Have you checked out Maiwa.com. They have some lightweight organic cotton mull that is gauzy, it works for some types of Shibori, depending on the type of pleating that you desire. They also sell cotton khadi, which feels stiff and easy to fold, but according to Maiwa after washing really softens up! I could also recommend Dharma Trading as they have a lot of options. I hope this helps! Would love to see some of your creations some day:)

Reply
Carol
5/9/2020 06:42:02 am

Hi. I want to dye an old king-size duvet cover with a rectangular pattern. Do you have any suggestions on how to handle such a large piece? Thanks!

Reply
Hilary Hahn link
5/10/2020 03:23:12 pm

Hi Carol!
I have done queen sized duvet covers and the size was tricky! We stuck with Kumo style shibori binding. The vat we used was really strong and they came out nice.
Other options that might work well could be stitched shibori. Not sure how itajime shibori will work due to the folding and needing to allow the dye to penetrate to the center of the piece. Would love to see your work!

Reply
Mimi Denman link
9/22/2020 03:07:38 pm

Hi Hillary- I love the way the silk pocket square seems to be both navy and blue green-. It's beautiful. Did you use 2 colors or just indigo? Your advice would be much appreciated.

Reply
Hilary link
9/24/2020 01:21:26 pm

Hi Mimi,
It's honestly the silk:) Indigo can appear as more blue-green on silk. I used only one color and the parts that were more exposed to dye became darker and the less exposed became lighter. Be sure to share your piece with me if you try it!

Reply
Mimi Denman
10/4/2020 07:05:39 am

Will do. - Thank you.

Peggy
11/10/2020 10:24:20 pm

Could you share how you pole wrapped the pants, and what the result was?

Reply
Hilary link
12/15/2020 07:46:38 am

Hi Peggy,
The pants were by Flin, a workshop participant. This is a method called Arashi Shibori. To fit the pants on the pole they were first folded lengthwise then, rolled (key is getting it tight but not to tight) and bound on to the pole- in a method similar to pole dyeing. This method is mostly likely best demonstrated by video. I hope to film one soon, for now I have one on Itajime Shibori - and if you subscribe- you will be notified about the new tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iux8l9zNSfc&t=102s

Reply



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    HI, I'M HILARY.
    This is where I share inspiration for a hand-crafted lifestyle from natural dye methods, textile surface techniques, and the best of contemporary California design. I love dreaming up products for an artful sustainable home. I offer  workshops to inspire you to live your best life by connecting you to your creativity and others. I hope to meet you in person at one of my current craft workshops for creatives like you! Join my tribe to receive your first free video on Shibori folding with me.
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