ENTWINEMENTS

Now I look at the other side to see if the over-dyes penetrated thru all the layers. The over all effect is not just the upper most layer which is what you see on the top side. As I bend open the pleats on the pole or purple side I do see the bright colors peeking thru.

This is the moment of truth. No matter how many times you have done this color there are always uncontrolled parts. Once the piece looks good, a logo-- this serves as my signature on a piece--is attached. The logo is about the size of a large bead and is sewn on with some seed beads.

Here is the completed piece:

You can see that the overall color is still bright and purple. You can see that it is much smaller then when it was white silk and in fact is a nice size to throw over your shoulder.

Now arashi shibori, this process, has most often been used to create patterns/designs on cloth rather than texture. So I have stretched out part of this scarf so that you can see the type of design it creates. The piece is too big for me to get a photo of the entire piece stretched out, you are seeing about a yard of fabric.

It is not flat either so the transitions from one color to another are not visible. If I were doing arashi shibori for patterning and not pleats I would do several things differently. First I could take it off the pole before it is dry. But I would change the design too, what looks best in a pleated scarf is not the same that makes the most interesting pattern.

In part 1 of this series I said that the hems, machine-made and hand-made looked about the same after pleating. I have never had any one notice the difference, not even Grace. Here are both for your evaluation:

The upper or green hem is machine made and the lower on has hand-rolled hems on both sides. Once pleated I don't think there is a noticible difference.