Indigo and Shibori
Posted: May 02 2016
def. shibori. There is no one word in the english language that defines shibori,
its the word for a "variety of embellishing textiles by shaping and securing cloth
before dying". quote from www.dartmouth.edu
Left to right: Shiborigirl.worpress.com, honestlywtf.com
Indigo as a dye stuff alone has enumerate possibilities, combine this with the timeless
techniques of shibori and the possibilities are endless. As history goes India
is believed to be the historical centre of indigo dying and one of a handful
of traders to the rest of the world, as blue was such a difficult colour to come by.
Did you know indigo is one of the 7 colours of the rainbow! It sits traditionally
between blue and violet on the visible spectrum. True indigo comes from the leaves
of the Indigofera tinctoria and the Woad plant which grew along India and European
trade routes.
During my travels I have seen a multitude of different cultures who make and wear
indigo dyed cloth as there traditional attire. Its such a deep, rich colour, that you
almost want to jump into it. The potential for experimentation with tones, and
techniques are limitless and can be seen below.
The Japanese used traditional techniques such as Shibori, which with Indigo dyes
when designing their traditional dress, the Yukata or summer Kimono.
It involves beautiful textile manipulation techniques such as wood clamping, pleating, stitching, folding, tying of silks,
hemp and cotton fabrics that are widely used.
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