Shibori Techniques Lesson 2

Shibori Techniques on Silk
with Glennis Dolce (Shibori Girl Studios)

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson 2.1- Stitched Shibori Techniques
Lesson 2 & 3 will involve stitched techniques. In this lesson (2) we will learn three basic traditional
styles and practice them on different fabrics. I will also introduce a couple of variations on these
traditional styles and how they can be enhanced with the Colorhue dyes. I suggest reading through the
entire lesson first before you start. Trust me, it will help.
Lets begin by collecting your supplies for this lesson. (refer to your supply list for details) You will need:
-sewing needle
-strong thread ( upholstery thread or I use a polyester size 33 black thread-its just what I have)
-straightedge of some kind
-seam ripper
-pencil or washout marker
-silk (I am using silk broadcloth, & silk habotai, but you can use what you like or have on hand. I dont recommend
the organza or gauze as it is so sheet it wont show the pattern very well. A tight weave is best. If working in cotton
and another dyeset, cotton lawn is a favorite of mine)
-dyes and containers
Basically, stitched shibori involves compression of the fabric by any method of stitching. Stitching in
different patterns results in different designs once the dye is applied. Steam setting the silk after dyeing
will additionally set the shape/texture into the silk enhancing the pattern created by the dye. Here I will
focus on the dye patterns resulting from the stitching. Feel free to practice what I am presenting here on
other fabrics and experiment. Here I have created a sampler of three basic traditional stitched shibori
styles on a piece of silk broadcloth (aprox. 12 square) that I base dyed in a light green/blue. You can
leave them white or natural for the highest contrast.
First I will introduce mokume. Mokume is defined by parallel rows of running stitches. You can create
these rows within a defined shape if desired (such a a circle, square etc.). Mokume refers to the
woodgrain pattern created by the stitching after dyeing.
Use a washout marker or pencil and straightedge to mark your rows and stitch with a double thread
knotted at one end leaving 3 of thread at the end of each row. Keep all your knots at the same side.
1
2010 Glennis Dolce all rights reserved www.shiborigirlstudios.com
No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed in any format without permission of the author
Patterns and templates are provided for personal use only and are not to be sold or distributed in any way.

using Colorhue dyes
Next, we will stitch a makiage design. Makiage is defined as a pattern within a motif. This can be as
simple as the circle motif as I have exampled here or you can do any closed shape such as a flower, a
heart, leaves, or interlocking geometric shapes. Again beginning with your needle, thread doubled and
knotted, sew a shape as in the photo. Proceed on, a stitch past the beginning knot closing the shape and
cut thread leaving about a 6 tail. The extra thread will be used to wrap around the gathered fabric on
this one- thereby creating the pattern within the (circle) motif. Dont worry if you come up short. You
can always wrap the inside with a new thread.
The next technique is orinui. Orinui involves stitching the cloth on the fold, bringing the needle up and
over the folded edge of the fabric and inserting the needle from the back to the front, up and over the
folded edge and repeating (kind of like you are wrapping the needle with the fabric).
Here, I stitched two parallel rows of orinui culminating in a point. All stitching is done prior to drawing
up threads. Gathering threads distorts the fabric and you wouldnt be able to properly stitch your
designs if you gather as you go. It is extremely important to use strong thread to stitch with. A very
complicated design takes a long time to stitch and if you break a thread while drawing up your stitches it
is very difficult to re-stitch while half drawn up!! At some point, this will probably happen to you.
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using Colorhue dyes
Here is my sampler all stitched up-
Reviewlower right- mokume rows

upper right and middle- makiage circles
upper left- orinui rows coming together in a point
lower left- undulating rows of stitching
Now comes the fun part. Pulling up your threads. Here are a few tips:
-pull up the mokume rows in pairs, tying off the ends in a square knot as tightly as possible WITHOUT
breaking your thread!
-tie up the makiage and secure with a square knot leaving any extra thread for wrapping around the
center. Once knotted, you can wrap the extra thread a few times around at the base where your stitching
is and continue wrapping up the extra fabric until you reach the tip. Using a backwards loop (like a
simple cast on in knitting) to secure the wrapping. You can do this twice if necessary to secure.
-pull up the orinui working the stitches together tightly sliding them up against your knot. Secure with a
square knot.
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using Colorhue dyes
You can also wet the fabric to compress it further before knotting off. The tighter the
compression of the stitching, the better your pattern will come out.
all drawn up and ready to wet out before dyeing.

The drawn up resisted fabric takes on a very sculptural shape at this point. All those tails can make
things confusing if you have a very elaborate design. Usually, I will clip the drawn up knotted off
threads to an inch or two as I go to lessen the confusion. Unless you are somewhat methodical about the
order in which you pull up your threads you may miss one and not realize it until after you open up your
design.
After the fabric is wet out you are ready to dye. To get the most contrast use a darker color to over dye.
Another alternative is to use white to start with or to dye the base a color like yellow and over dye with a
color that will result in another color- like say, blue-which will turn green in contrast with the yellow.
You get the idea. Prepare your dyebath and dye your stitched piece.
Remember, this is a sampler. You are learning. Dont expect perfect results the first time around.
Sometimes the unintended result brings forth many ideas to act upon in subsequent pieces. This is the
beauty of shibori. Make notes when you get results you favor if you think you may want to refer to the
idea later. You may want to make some samples to create a notebook of techniques for reference.
After dyeing, use your seam ripper to CAREFULLY lift and cut threads and release the stitching. This
is where you can easily cut a hole in your silk. It happens. Weve all done it. Just use care and if a hole
appears, you can use your creativity to work around it. Open up the silk to reveal your results!
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using Colorhue dyes
sampler after removing stitching

-here are some details of the sampler. I used a bluish black to overdye. I also painted on some turquoise
on the wrapped centers of the makiage circles. We will do more of this later on.
orinui- this stitching over the fold creates a chevron type pattern. Placing two rows close together sort of
combines them and makes them look like tire tracks- my point was not perfectly resisted. Not tight
enough at the tip. A good piece of stiched shibori is well executed. This one misses the mark. Expect to
learn as you go- no one is immune to imperfection at some point.
lesson 2.1 video 2
Dyeing the Stitched Sampler
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using Colorhue dyes
-a very simple makiage circle. Here is where I painted

some concentrated (50/50) turquoise over the wrapped center.
-detail of the mokume- on this fabric (the broadcloth) I would probably spread my rows differently.
Here they are and the pattern is not as clear as I would like. I could have also directly paint some
concentrated dye on the gathered cloth to highlight the pattern before releasing. I left the stitch lines for
you to seeSome other stitched designs dyed with colorhue-
makiage on white silk- 4 concentric stitched circleslike mokume but in rings

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using Colorhue dyes
two concentric stitched circles with a wrapped center

(skipped a section-the brown part) combination of immersion and painted dye
makiage squares on white. Hand painted

centers- reserved while dyeing the blue. Honestly- I cant remember all the details on this one. Just
thought you needed to see some of the possibilities! Here are were notes can help
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using Colorhue dyes
Heres another painted makiage circle- this one done on light olive habotai
First three concentric circles were stitched and drawn up. The last (inner) circle thread was left long and
wrapped around to the tip using a backward loop to secure the thread tightly in place.
Next, the fabric was wet out and the base (loose open fabric) was dyed in a dark color-just up to where
the stitching started (partially immersed).
Lastly, the stitched and wrapped tip was painted with dye concentrates (about 50/50 dye to H2O)
and rinsed.
-detail of painted tip and then removing the threads
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using Colorhue dyes
dried and ironed

-notice the more concentrated black which was painted around the base of the outer circle. This gives an
interesting contrast to the shape and helps to define the edge.
At this point, I will direct you to a short video I made on shade dyeing with the Colorhue dyes. There
have been some questions regarding the depth of shade one can achieve with the Colohue. It is very
basic but it may be able to clear up some things for you by showing an example or two. Remember, the
longer the dye is in contact with the fabric, the more dye it can tape up. Do a small test and leave the
fabric in overnight to see how clear you can get the dyebath. This will mean you have used up all the
dye and it is attached to the fabric.
Shade Dyeing with Colorhue
OK- now how about one more idea? Get out another piece of silk-either habotai or broadcloth would be
good. Here is what I did:
Use an object to paint a couple of shapes (or just freehand it) onto the silk with a brush loaded with dye.
This can be ay concentration you want to make it. I think here I used something like 50% dye to water.
I used a small bowl turned upside down. Really- anything will do. Here I painted on the dry silk.
Painting on dry silk has a different result than on wet silk. Try it for yourself and notice the difference.
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using Colorhue dyes
Using the orinui style stitching
done on the fold I stitched around
my painted shapes before pulling
up my stitches and securing with a
square knot.
Using a new piece of thread I
wrapped the center of the circle and
the circle (I let one of my shapes
run off the edge of the silk).
I soaked the silk then prepared a
purple dyebath using the scarlet and
some turquoise letting the silk soak
in the bath just up to the wrapped
bits.
I then prepared a small amount of
an olive/yellow dye and dipped the
wrapped ends in this. I then
removed the silk and painted some
black around the base of the circles
and a little bit down the side of the
wrappings.
Rinse and open!
I suggest you do the sampler first just to get a feel for the stitched work. It can be a little slow going at
first so keep it simple and learn to draw up the stitches tightly to get a pattern going. You may want to
start with a completely white fabric to see the most contrast. Blue is a good choice to overdye as it
shows up well and can mimic an indigo look which is nice. Gauze and very open weave fabrics will not
show a stitched pattern as clearly as heavier and tightly woven fabrics.
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using Colorhue dyes
As you can see, you can combine dipping and painting of these dyes. The dyes set very quickly making
painting the dye an attractive option creating unique results. Start to think outside the box/bottle with
these dyes.
Some other thoughts outside of shibori:
- mix the dye with shaving foam to silk screen on silk.
- Float the dye on water and print (monoprint) the silk
You can visit my flickr page for more samples of stitched shibori here-worth a visit to see more variety:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdolce/sets/72157623501825758/
A couple good books on the topic are:
Arimatsu Shibori: A Japanese Tradition of Indigo Dyeing
By Bonnie F. Abiko
-awesome but out of print
and
Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing
By Yoshiko Wada
Enjoy, take your time and dont forget you can always visit the blog and view the videos. Take
advantage of reviewing the work of others as well. It is part of the learning experience.
Mata ne! (until next time) Glennis
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Shibori Techniques on Silk

with Glennis Dolce (Shibori Girl Studios)

Shibori Techniques on Silk

Shibori Techniques on Silk

Reviewlower right- mokume rows

Shibori Techniques on Silk

all drawn up and ready to wet out before dyeing.

Shibori Techniques on Silk

sampler after removing stitching

Shibori Techniques on Silk

-a very simple makiage circle. Here is where I painted

makiage on white silk- 4 concentric stitched circleslike mokume but in rings

Shibori Techniques on Silk

two concentric stitched circles with a wrapped center

makiage squares on white. Hand painted

Shibori Techniques on Silk

-detail of painted tip and then removing the threads

Shibori Techniques on Silk

dried and ironed

Shibori Techniques on Silk

Shibori Techniques on Silk

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