New book
This cover is one of my zen garden shawls. My copy arrived today and a glance shows it to be quite tantalizing. I'll take it on my trip and report back.
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May 31, 2007
May 30, 2007
Discharge+origami shibori
Here are some samples I made with discharge. The color is nothing special, but I was taking silk out of a box of damaged pieces, color unknown.
Craft in America-- tonight
This is airing tonight on PBS at 8,9 and 10 PM. This series is accompanied by an exhibit, book etc. that you can check out at their website. In the preview they show a bit of the Smithsonian Craft Show, part of my circuit.
May 29, 2007
Preparations for California
I'm leaving Thurs. 31 May for California. I go to Oakland, in the Bay area, to take a class with Mark Thomas and the on the 7th to Santa Monica for The Contempoary Craft Market the 8.9 and 10 of June. We are packing today to ship so I took some pictures of some causual jackets I am taking.
This is a textured silk/lycra with two-way stretch. Simple shape, easy fit. I have 4, each a different color: this one is red pop, I have one called kumquat- bright orange base with olives and browns, parakeet - a light sharp green with some pink, blue and lavender and a very softy color called rose gold.
May 21, 2007
More
Here is another piece I made at the workshop and forgot to post with the others. It is 22'x 72". It was a chartruese overdyed with burgandy.
May 19, 2007
WIP
This is a piece I made in the workshop in St. Peter MN. Then since I've been home I've been trying to get a better feeling for the technique. So I've tried 3 different silks, with acid dyes. Acid dyes are so easy when you are trying things! Make up a pot of dye, swish the silk around in it until it gets some color, take it out and open it up. See the results now. Leave the pot, Fold another piece, swish it around in the dye bath....
Back to the studio!
May 17, 2007
Different ways of pleating
I had a question on how to pleat at home.and the answer is that there are many ways. There are also many kinds of pleats, and sometimes the ways you make them is different.
PLEAT: Fold of fabric, folded back upon itself so that the pleat is comprised of three layers; occurs vertically only. Pleats may be partially stitched or pressed down. Kinds of pleats include: knife pleats, box pleats, inverted pleats, and accordion pleats.from http://missourifamilies.org/learningopps/learnmaterial/dictionary/pqr.htm Get an eyefull of different types of pleats here.
Pleating can be as simple as folding the cloth back and forth several times. This is a basic technique used in wearing a sari or a kilt.
For an entertaining kilt pleating visit here, I wonder how he would get dressed in a hurry .
I have already discussed making this kind of pleat with a smocking pleater. This is a fav of shibori dyers because it inserts a thread that can be used to gather and compress the cloth.
Tie-dyers also form small pleats with their fingers.
This is also how many ethnic costumes are pleated such an the Hmong or Miao.
I most often make this style pleat by pole wrapping.
SKIRT or KNIFE PLEATS
These are often made from a pattern or by measuring, marking and basting. This gives the most accurate pleats and they do not all have to be the same or even the same at the top and bottom. Think of pleated skirts. The shape garment is formed by varying the size of the pleat , widest at the waist, narrower over the hips. Of course, part of these pleats are stitched down. These same style pleat can be formed with a
Pleater Boards
A pleater board is paper/cloth device that you use to tuck the cloth into and then iron them. Here are some instructions on how to use a pleater board. I always put a tape on the back of the cloth , a strip on each side, before removing it from the board. You can then machine baste the pleats in place before removing the tape. You can buy one here. My experience is these board are good for small pieces only, the size of the board. Taking the pleated piece out and getting it perfectly lined up to do a second segment was a less than satisfactory endeavor. Also you have to watch the alignment of the cloth like a hawk, or your pleated piece is a trapazoid not a rectangle. Every thing has is use but you scrafice control when you go to a pleater board.
Yet to come-- attachments for the sewing machine that pleat.
May 16, 2007
Examples of Japanese shibori
I love the soft fuzzyness of this dye that diffused in. I wish I could get this kind of effect. It reminds me of the Norwegian Trine Mauritz Eriksen's work, monochromatic on wool.
See more of her work.
One can see the light glowing in these pieces. Stunning!
This is a picture of some Japanese shibori taken by shiborizone and published on Flickr
This is a sort of half curtian that the Japanese hang in doorways, it is split in the middle to walk through. This use of stitched shibori to create an image is effective. The bottom of the curtian has a stitched shibori pattern.
May 15, 2007
Shibori Bean Pattern
This is a towel, cotton with indigo, for sale. The pattern is a classic shibori one. Opening a shibori piece is always the most exciting moment, after all the work of making the resists and then dyeing it. Did it work? It is a little suprising how this pattern is made. I hope you sound as excited as the woman off screen in the video. Watch the reveal.
May 09, 2007
Chinese butterflies -size matters
This is a sample I did with the others but didn't get a photo to post. You can clearly see that the smaller size butterfly has more definition.
May 07, 2007
TUTORIAL Chinese Butterflies-part 2
By the end of part one we had made our stitches on the folded cloth. Make as many butterflies as you want on your piece. I made two here.
The pieces must be soaked in water before dyeing. This is a general rule but especially important when making resists for the dyeing; dry cloth will wick the dye under the resists and you will have no memory of the stitching you did. Here in a piece soaking in just plain water. If you did not pre-wash your cloth you can add a drop of Synthrapol or other non-interferring detergent to the water.
After a half an hour or so of soaking, dye your cloth by whatever immersion method you use. Of course the dye must be appropriate to the fiber you use. I used indigo on the cotton T-shirt, and acid dyes on the silk. The orginal Chinese example appears to be indigo on cotton cloth.
When the cloth is in the dye bath it takes extra care and movement of the cloth to get an evenly colored background and good defition of the resists for the butterflies. There is only moderate compression under the threads so these butterflies take more care than many other techniques. Put on your gloves and get your hands in the dyebath. Open up all the folds and swish the the cloth around. Then open up the other folds and swish some more. The more opening of folds and swishing the more definition of the butterflies you will have. I want the background as even in coloration as I can get and the dye up to but not under the resists. You can peek under the threads as your are working the dyebath to see how it goes. Just becareful not to move the threads.
When the dyebath is complete, remove the cloth. The top layer will be almost completely dyed like so:
What happens next depends on what dyes you used. For acid dyes, that do not require a wash down procedure, you may now remove the threads to see the results. For indigo and fiber reactive dyes I would wash before removing the threads; these dyes have a tendecy to back stain and may lightly color your white areas if you wait to wash after you remove the threads.
Here is one I made on a silk/nylon fleece with a navy acid dye. They are about 2.5 inches across. The defition is fairly good and the background is even enough to be able to make out the butterfly. The antennae are the top layer where there is almost no resist.
The first butterflies I made were the ones on the T-shirt with indigo. They came out great! For this tutorial the first try was on a very open weave silk noil and the dye penetrated more than I wanted, a due to the open weave of the cloth. Maybe it is a ghost of a butterfly. This is about 7 inches across.
Then I tried a very tightly woven silk broadcloth, a favorite of mine for stitched shibori. I was doing it in a very small bath and I turned on the heat and the telephone rang. By the time I got back to the dye bath it had boiled and exhausted. I had not worked the cloth in the bath. There is no defition and the background is mottled.
It maybe that the braodcloth will work if dye properly but I tried a silk noil jacquard and the silk/nylon fleece. I did work them in the dye bath and they both came out well. I also made different sizes on the same cloth. Here is the silk noil jacquard, notice that the smaller butterfly (lower) is better defined.
The stitching of the butterfly is not labor intensive but since it is only moderate compression it is a bit tricky to dye.
A thick, spongy cloth like the T-shirt jersey is the easiest to work with.
Not all dyes penetrate the same. Indigo penetrates the least and is the easiest to resist. Unforunately running an indigo dye bath takes some skill. Instant indigo may be the easy solution for indigo. Acid dye are next on ease of resisting. Fiber reactive dyes penetrate the farthest because of their small molecular size and are therefore the hardest dye to use for this resist.
Size of the motif matters, too. The Chinese sample is less than an inch across. I found that the defition was good up to about 2.5 inches then it dropped off.
Samples will show if a particular combination of cloth, size, dye and technique will work.
Ok folks, if you like these tutorials and want more I need some feed back. I'd like to see the butterflies you make. Make them and post a comment and a picture. The picture can be at Flickr:all things shibori. Tell us what kind of cloth, dye and the approximate size of the motif.
May 06, 2007
TUTORIAL-Chinese Butterflies Part 1
This is dedicated to the delightful Minnesotan women in the Origami Shibori Workshop in St. Peter. They were curious about how to make resist-dyed butterflies on an indigo T-shirt that I had made. The simple technique is Chinese in origin, I believe. I have only seen it done in indigo.
I have also seen in the indigo work of the Miao Peoples in China too. My first experience was on t-shirts in indigo and the results were pleasing:
HOW TO MAKE THE BUTTERFLIES
As you can see the design is based on 6-fold symmetry. Chose your cloth, I stated with natural colored silk noil cloth.
Start by folding your cloth in half. This fold will bisect your butterfly. It can be on or off grain, it depends on the placement you want.
Now you will fold it in thirds, like cutting a pie into 6 pieces. I fold the front over about a third
then the back over the other way and adjust so that all edges line up.
You should now have 6 layers of cloth. Then you fold down the tip of the cone
Now you need a sturdy thread and a needle to carry it through the cloth.
Thread the needle with a double thread and knot the end. Poke the needle though the point that has been folded over.
Pull the thread through until the knot rest against the cloth. Now pass the thread over to the side with the knot, catch it under the knot and go back to the place where it came out. Poke the needle back through the cloth almost in the same spot it came out, emerging on the other side right by the knot. Now snug up the thread. This is tricky, you need it tight enough to make little dents in the cloth at the fold, but not too tight so that the point buckles and won't lay flat. Then make a stitch that catches the thread and holds it in place beside the knot.
Tie off on the other side.
The thread looks like a v on both sides and the there is a knot on each side. The cloth still lies flat but the thread is pulled tight enough to to make little dents in the cloth at the fold. Finish your stitches and soak your cloth. You will then be ready to dye your cloth, part 2.
May 03, 2007
Annual Studio Sale
You are invited to our annual studio sale. All kinds of things on sale including a dozen pieces from Gild the Lily.
We are open
Friday, May 4 12-6PM
Saturday, May 5 10-4PM
Sunday, May 6 12-4PM.
Our address is 111 Allen, Yellow Springs OH. Here is an area map to help you find us. Allen intersects with US68 at the south end of the Village and we are one house from the corner, north side.
You can find out more about Yellow Springs, where to eat, take a hike, play, here.
If you get lost, give me a call, 937.767.8961, and I'll give you directions.
Stop by and tell me you've seen the blog!
