To understand the concept of #Shibori we’ll have to visit the ancient part of the world consisting of hand-made fabrics and techniques with the most basic materials available at the time. To start, Shibori is a type of Tie and Dye technique that is used in various parts of the world known by different names and comprising of their own traditional techniques of the same origin.
“ Tie and Dye is an ancient method of embellishing fabric. It is a technique that has been practiced all over the world, with every culture contributing its little quirks and traditional symbolism to the designs and motifs created almost magically by tying, folding or rolling fabric in a variety of patterns and then dyeing it with mostly vegetable dyes.”
In India alone there are several centers of tie and dyeing with their special techniques and dyes. Artisans have excelled in tie dyeing techniques known as ‘Bandhani’ and ‘Leheriya’. The term `Bandhani` is derived from the word `Bandhan` that means tying up. It is an ancient art practise that is mainly used in the state of Rajasthan and Gujarat. #Bandhani is the Rajasthani art of tying small dots on fabric with a continuous thread and dyeing it. The result is a vibrant and irregular mix of vermillion and saffron, emerald and sapphire or aqua and yellow. Bandhani is now done on almost all types of apparels from scarves to sarees, kurtas etc.
#Leheriya is a traditional style of tie dye practiced in Rajasthan, India that results in brightly coloured cloth with distinctive patterns. The technique gets its name from the Rajasthani word for wave because the dyeing technique is often used to produce complex wave patterns. Leheriya is distinguished by the natural, ripple effect in mesmerizing colours, using a colour resist dyeing technique. The leheriya was patronized in the nineteenth and early twentieth century by the local traders and merchants who wore turbans of bright Leheriya fabric. The wavy, diagonal stripes created through this technique look bewitching in brilliant colour combinations. Leheriya has been very popular in dupattas, and scarves but now it can also be found in sarees and various other forms of clothing.
Japan is one of the countries with a strong tie and dye tradition. #Shibori is the Japanese word tie and dyed textiles. Shibori is the Japanese word for a variety of ways of embellishing textiles by shaping cloth and securing it before dyeing. The word shibori comes from the verb root shiboru, “to wring, squeeze, and press.” Rather than treating cloth as a two-dimensional surface, with shibori it is given a three-dimensional form by folding, crumpling, stitching, plaiting, or plucking and twisting. Cloth shaped by these methods is secured in a number of ways, such as binding and knotting.
According to history, there are many theories and examples as to where the earliest shibori was found. A theory suggests, the pre-Columbian shibori alpaca found in Peru and silk found in 4th century tombs along the Silk Road in China are the oldest examples of silk shibori being found in the world. According to another source, the earliest known example of cloth dyed with a shibori technique dates from the 8th century in Japan and it was among the goods donated by the Emperor Shōmu to the Tōdai-ji in Nara; a Buddist temple. Another theory is that shibori traditions existed for centuries in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent, and another says that shibori entered Japan at least 1300 years ago from China, along with the Chinese style of dress, and was interpreted in a particularly Japanese fashion.
In feudal Japan, since many people could not afford to buy expensive fabrics like cotton or silk, clothes were often made of cheap hemp fabrics and shibori came up as an art for the poor. People could not afford to replace clothes regularly either, so they would repair and redye them, and the art of Shibori evolved as a means of making old clothes look new. Under the Tokugawa peace, many different arts flourished, and many different techniques and local forms of Shibori emerged. Shibori developed along two separate paths: as the method of decorating the silk used for producing kimonos for the aristocracy of Japan, and as a folk art differing from region to region.
SOME OF THE BASIC SHIBORI TECHNIQUES
Miura Shibori - named after a Doctor’s wife who brought the technique to Arimatsu from Shikoku. Whereas most Shibori is made by tying knots around points of material, Miura Shibori consists of looped binding, keeping out less dye. It produces softer effects and is much cheaper. Commonly used for common clothes like yukata.
Arashi Shibori (“storm” Shibori) - A length of cloth is folded and wrapped around a four-meter pole. The folding method produces a storm-like effect of lines and dashes, hence the name.
Kumo Shibori (“spider web” Shibori) – Arimatsu is famous for the quality of its handmade Kumo Shibori. While it is possible to produce a highly regular spider-web pattern by machine, artisans in Arimatsu are renowned for the regularity of their hand-made kumo Shibori.
Nui Shibori - (“stitched” Shibori). The material is sewn to form the pattern before dyeing.
Suji Shibori - hand folded over a rope core in a similar fashion to Arashi Shibori, then bound and dyed. The material is then dyed, dried, and then carefully untied. The untying is one of the most important phases – it is vital not to distort the material or the entire piece and months of work are ruined. Finally, the material is steamed and stretched to remove creases.
Comments