Last night I enjoyed taking a class learning how to do Japanese Shibori Tie Dying from Lauren Manninen at the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy.
We used Flour Sack Cotton Dish Towels and were able to try three different dying techniques. For my first one, I did a horizontal fan fold and then folded it vertically until I had a rectangular block of fabric that I then wrapped with two rubber bands before submersing it into the Indigo Dye Bath.
I was really happy with the results, even though each fold looked slightly different.
For my second one, I got a bit ambitious for the time allowed. I started by pushing a dowel into the fabric and then wrapping a small rubber band around the dowel creating a nub of fabric. After doing three rows, I realized, I was never going to finish, so I continued around the perimeter of the towel, and then when that was done, I wrapped the remainder of the fabric using multiple larger rubber bands. I could love to try this technique again with a bit more time and precision ... I loved the effect.
Finally, I tried one starting at one corner of the towel and wrapping it with wide cotton twine until I had a tube of wrapped fabric. (the bonus with that is that I also got some dyed twine to bring home for some future use).
Don't tell the others, but I think this one is my favorite. I love the ripples of color.
I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to learn new art through community classes.
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