Shibori has long fascinated me and now I think I’m even more enthralled after a thoroughly wonderful day learning about it.
Who knew from a vat of gunky black looking sludge that frankly smelt a little gross.
This could happen.
and this
and so many more shades and patterns of wonderful inky hues.
Pepa and Karen from Shibori were great in breaking down the system. How to pleat and bind and most importantly how to embrace the unpredictability, that the most beautiful results often came when least expected.
It was so fun and just what I was hoping for. I wanted a day where I could learn the techniques, experiment, end up with some useable fabric pieces and then go away with a head exploding with ideas of what to do next. It truly was inspiring.
Being able to share all that with the Sydney Spoolettes was a blast. As a group we are brought together by our love of sewing but even in the few short months we have been a group real friendships have formed and the camaraderie is empowering as we all make our way in the world.
For anyone considering doing the workshop I saw GO FOR IT! you will not regret it. My top tips would be
– take extra fabric of varying lengths, widths and textures
– pre wash all your fabric
– pre iron all of your fabric
– have an idea of what you want to achieve, the enthusiasm is infectious and a little overwhelming. Being able to keep yourself on track will mean you get out what you want from it
– embrace the unpredictable and go outside your own boundries
For more images you can pop over to my flickr page (I’ve been trying all afternoon to get my flickr to work, it won’t, so I added the photos here as a gallery instead), Maria from Veloswer has some stunning images on her flickr and I am sure there will be more images coming up soon.
I have quite a bit of fabric that I dyed during class, am sifting through it all and planning what to make so expect more Shibori goodness soon.
Lastly thank you to the Spoolettes who attended it was wonderful to see you all, huge welcome to the newcomers too. Thanks to Mel for organising lunch at the pub and huge huge thank you to Pepa and Karen for sharing your knowledge with us.
Lizzy
Such a wonderful day! A big thank you to you, Mel, Pepa & Karen – and the amazing, lovely Spoolettes.
Susan Goodwin
Thank you to you and Niomi for coming down for it, was lovely to catch up!
Velosewer
And seriously thank you Susan for arranging this workshop and buying the extra fabrics for the group so they could ‘Shibori till they dropped’!!!
Susan Goodwin
Am honestly just so happy that everyone had a good time and enjoyed it. It’s been something I’ve wanted to explore for ages so it was an opportunity for me to do that with a whole bunch of friends!
Melanie
It was a GREAT day…once I relaxed about the free form results we could get. I’m DEAD keen to get myself some bigger fabric pieces now and Shibori away! Thanks for arranging this for us – you are RAD!
Susan Goodwin
thank you! I think we all want to Shibori ALL the things!
I spent last night watching youtube clips on techniques and the history behind it just so I could indulge in it a little more.
Vanessa
Oh! It all looks so gorgeous! That colour!
I’m looking forward to seeing all the shibori goodness popping up on blogs and seeing what you all make.
Susan Goodwin
The colour is so intense, so beautiful. It was so much fun and if you ever get the chance to play with shibori go for it!
Catherine
How amazing does all that look! I would love to have come if not for the price! I really love how deep the blue is. Is indigo made from plants? i think i remember reading that indigo was so popular in Elizabethan times, but it stank so bad, the indigo dyer had to live way outside town and no one would ever go visit him except for the delivery boys!
Susan Goodwin
I actually thought the price was amazing. For 3 hours of expert tuition plus fabric, dye and space to create in, it was a bargain at $110. I don’t think the results anyone got would have been even close to what we did get if we had just try to wing it without guidance from expert artisans.
Indigo is made from plants and has a fascinating history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_dye one of the reasons all dyers not just indigo dyers were on the outskirts of towns is that many dyes were “set” using urine. Specifically stale urine. It was collected from the town and taken to the dye house where it was stored to be used in the dye process. Between the smell of the dyes and the stench of stale urine it would’ve been pretty foul.
Amanda
Oh wow! This looks AMAZING! Damn you Sydney ladies know how to have all the fun!
Susan Goodwin
It was amazing! and next time you and the Canberra ladies have to come join in the fun!
Alex
Your photos are amazing! Can’t wait to get my hands dirty again. Such fun with the loveliest bunch of ladies!