Natural dyeing
Quilted vest reimagining old bedsheets by partially dyeing with natural indigo.
100% cotton fabric & wadding | Summer 2024
100% cotton fabric & wadding | Summer 2024
Madder
Itajime Shibori dyeing
Shibori is an ancient Japanese technique for tie-dyeing fabric to produce different patterns. The name originates from 絞るshiboru = to wring, to squeeze, while shibori is the noun form. The earliest known example of Japanese Shibori dates to the 8th century and was initially introduced from China and was adapted to Japanese traditions and tastes. During the Edo era (17th-19th c) that Shibori became popular, when in response to Tokugawa Shogunate military government forbidding lower class citizens from wearing silk, civilians looked for ways to enhance cheaper cloth made from hemp and renew older, faded and damaged clothes. Indigo was the traditional dye.
For my practice I used some waste plastic instead of wood as it was avaliable and easy to cut. All the fabric used was second hand (cotton bedsheets and linen). I found the tightly folded and bound fabric made it a lot easier to for not introducing excess oxygen into the indigo dye vat, especially for multiple dips.
