Shibori Scarf Workshop Recap

Intro to Shibori: Beachy Scarves In Malibu

Hey there! I have some pictures that I have been wanting to share with you. Would you like to see the results of our workshop in Malibu a weeks ago? This event is a part of my Creative Sundays workshop series, which I designed for adults to promote relaxation through creativity, introduce ancient art processes, and foster meaningful connection in a non-competitive way! Our Shibori textile night took place at 98% Angel inside of the Trancas Country Mart in Malibu. It is a hip and original children's clothing boutique, with a space for art-making in the rear of the shop. If you are ever in the area in search of one-of-kind children's clothing, I highly recommend that you visit.

When the idea came up with the boutique owner, Zoe to offer an adult workshop in Malibu, I knew this would be the perfect spot! With plenty of room and a very peaceful vibes. Our event was sold out with 10 guests arriving to learn about the ancient art-form of Shibori to create unique and stunning patterns using indigo dye. For this workshop, I prepared 2 different dye vats. We used a 123 Fructose Vat and a pre-reduced indigo vat using a basic indigo kit. Although, I prefer working with all natural vats, I have found the pre-reduced vats can be really handy for instructional purposes such as these. Next up, I plan to experiment with an iron vat. 

For this project, we used 20" x 80" long cotton-jute scarves. I fell in love with this exact blend which is 70% cotton and 30% jute fiber. They come straight off the loom in India and feature a small fringe on the bottom which makes them awesome as scarves or even as beach sarongs- perfect for Malibu weather and other beach cities! 

I begin the workshop with a brief history of indigo dyeing and background info on Shibori. Afterward, I demonstrate a few popular folds and provide visuals of the results. Next up, everyone gets busy folding and binding their fabrics. So busy, in fact that I do not have many photos although I will share links to that at the bottom of this post. For this workshop, I focus on Itajime and Arashi shibori techniques. For Itajime, I taught the accordion fold leading up to square and triangle binds. One person experimented with a radial folded Itajime as well. You can see her results below, the second from the right. Below at the far right, the fold is called the "snow flower" which consists of a triangle fold and a clamped rectangle. If all of this sounds like geometric gibberish, then I highly recommend that you take a class and you will learn more by doing it. Keep on reading to see more beautiful results from the event!

Here you can see the results of a fan folded fabric on the diagonal secured with rubber bands. This resulted in beautiful diagonal lines and a chevron or a v-shape in the center of the scarf. 

Here you can see Desi and Kat showing their beautiful pieces! I think they look amazing. I hope they enjoy wearing them all spring and summer at the beach. 

I hope these pics have somehow inspired you to dive deeper into the art of Shibori or that you learned something new! I encourage you to try this out at home or take a workshop. You may like these posts too!

• Shibori Textile Basics
• Shibori Textile Resource Guide 

You can also sign-up for Shibori private lessons or book custom events with me here. If you would like to be notified in advance about my next workshop, then you can join my mailing list below. 

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