Victoria’s Quilt. 40″ x 50″ commercial and hand-dyed cottons. “Converging Corners” block.
The blocks are each 10″ square. The whole quilt measures about 40″ by 50″. I used mostly commercial cottons, with a few hand-dyed fabrics thrown in. The back (and self-binding) is hand-dyed for a perfect match
I recently learned the Nui and Arashi Shibori techniques of resist dying. I loved the resist patterns and fell in love with magical indigo dye!
Drawing concentric semi-circles on folded edge of white Kona cotton
Stitching along the pencil lines with strong thread. We used doubled hand-quilting thread.
Gathering each row of stitching as tightly as possible without breaking the thread
Checking the “flower” on the indigo. Notice the greenish color – that means it is still active!
Submerging the piece for 2-3 minutes, moving constantly. Notice the green color!
Gorgeous results!
A second technique, “Wind-driven rain” Arashi Shibori. “Arashi” is the Japanese word for storm. The cotton is sewn into a tube that *just* fits over a pvc pipe. The fabric is scrunched tightly before submerging in the dye bath.
The fabric has just been taken off the pipe. The oxidation that turns the green to blue is still in process. The most beautiful green blues appear and disappear before your eyes. Magic!
Results of Wind-Driven Rain Shibori in indigo
Itajime Shibori: Flag-folded and dyed in indigo
More Nui Shibori, using stitched circles on multiple folds
Thread Dance 