Sunday, September 16, 2018

Brown, Rust, and Beige Hand-painted Silk Scarf Using Shibori Technique

     Using two new dye colors from a recent order as well as a deep brown already in my stock, I experimented with another Shibori technique somewhat similar to the flag fold technique I used for a coral toned scarf. I was delighted with the results--once again a complete surprise for me as a newbie to this style of silk dyeing. In fact, I couldn't wait to show this scarf to you. The dyes still need to be steam set, which will make the colors even richer. Then the scarf will be ready for its first thorough washing and careful pressing. Here, it still sports its Shibori folds.


center section detail
     The scarf's rich tones resulted from two factors. One is the inherent beauty of these French silk dye colors. The other was my concern that the dyes were not penetrating deeply enough into the folds, leading me to soak certain areas with additional dye. For this scarf, I was trying to color it all, not to leave any spots white.

     These techniques are wonderful and sort of magical. The dye flow follows the folds and settles more heavily on the edges of the folds as the silk dries. I do not think that even an experienced Shibori artist could control or predict the exact design results. With less color saturation, this particular folding pattern produces a simpler chevron design. Obviously, my heavier use of dye resulted in a more complex final pattern.


detail from one end
detail from the other end
     A few more details for those of you who are interested in my process: I folded this 11" x 60" silk scarf lengthwise just four times rather than the six times used on the coral scarf. Then, the diagonal folds were made in a back and forth triangular pattern rather than the flag fold used on the ends of the coral scarf. Each fold was pressed as I worked. The result was a long folded strip rather than the triangular packet of the flag fold technique. I folded the strip in half lengthwise, soaked it with water, and placed it in a large aluminum foil pan to dye. Soaking a brush (about 3/4" wide) in one color after another, I saturated various areas, some larger than others. The scarf air-dried for more than 24 hours. When I unfolded it, magic!

     There is a link to an earlier post about the flag folded coral scarf above. One other Shibori inspired scarf using a twisting method stars in another previous post. Both posts credit the author and book that guided my experimentation; this brown, rust, and beige scarf also followed directions from that wonderful book, adapted my own way.

Question of the day: My landscape painting and silk scarf dyeing and painting give me a variety of creative experiences, some mostly under my control and some free form and surprising like Shibori dyed scarves. Do you prefer one kind of creativity over the other--loose or controlled? I thrive on both.



6 comments:

  1. Oh My Goodness - you did not disappoint! This one is the most beautiful yet! Love the color tones! That you allowed more saturation really yielded a rich overall effect! Thanks for sharing your methods - your creativity knows no bounds! Absolutely gorgeous!

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  2. Wow, Rosemary! Your enthusiastic response to this scarf is immensely encouraging. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope you realize how much your compliments mean to me and how strong the additional motivation you give. I deeply appreciate your generosity.

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  3. Beautiful creation! Divine art!

    Happy Day to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores

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  4. Thank you, Carol! It's great to hear from you and definitely brings me a happy day. Have a great week.

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  5. Mary your scarf is gorgeous. I hopped over to read your post about the folding and loved the coral one too. Your creative endeavors are just beautiful. Enjoyed your recommendation on Albert Handel's book - I have checked it out from the library before too...you are so correct definitely about rereading this rich resource. Thanks for stopping to visit my apple post...hope you have a blessed week.

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  6. Thank you for visiting, Debbie, and for your generous comments. It's interesting that you also value the helpful resource the painting book provides. I enjoyed seeing your creative endeavors as well and always appreciate the joy you take in life and the way you notice and value nature.

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