Furoshiki: one day workshop at NSCCD

On Saturday I held my final creative workshop for the year: Furoshiki. This workshop is incredibly appropriate for this time of year as we created reusable and sustainable gift wrapping using shibori resist techniques, indigo dye and cotton fabric.

In 6 hours we covered a variety of techniques including stitched resist designs, asashi (using a tube to create a pattern) itajime (folded) and tesuji (pleated) shibori. Whilst there was a lot to learn, the output was incredible, with many beautiful fabrics created in the process.

Honeycomb shibori

We marvelled at the magic of the indigo dyeing process, watching it change colour from green, to turquoise, to indigo.

Simple things such as bamboo sticks can create delightful patterns, like the one above. 

We were far too busy trying to squeeze as much in as we possibly could that I totally forgot to take a group photo of our happy creatives. But rest assured we all left tinged with blue and bitten by the indigo bug. ;) 

Indigo Magic at NSCAD

Our five weeks of Indigo Magic held as part of NSCAD's extended studies program wrapped up this week. 

Over the five weeks course participants learnt and explored:

1. How to make an indigo vat
2. Stitched shibori resist designs 
3. Asashi shibori (using a tube to create a resist)
4. Itajime shibori (folded)
5. Tesuji shibori (pleated)
6. Other natural dye methods including rust and turmeric

Gwen's shibori explorations hanging out to dry

turmeric makes a delightful contrast against the deep blue of the indigo