Shibori Dyeing Technique

Shibori is a Japanese resist dyeing technique of manually binding, stitching, folding, or clamping the fabric to produce desired patterns.

The final result is a variety of beautiful patterns on fabric.

It consists of many techniques for dyeing fabrics cheaply in different patterns.

Different Shibori techniques

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Nui Shibori

Nui Shibori involves stitching and dyeing.

 A simple running stitch is made on the cloth, which is then pulled tight to gather the cloth.

It is a time-consuming technique but gives a variety of patterns.

Read more on Nui shibori dyeing here.

Arashi Shibori

This is the pole-wrapping and dyeing technique.

Arashi Shibori, the fabric is wound diagonally on a pole which is then tied with a string from top to bottom.

The fabric is then scrunched on the pole resulting in a design similar to rain.

Read more on steps to do arashi shibori dyeing here.

Kanoko Shibori

In Kanoko Shibori, sections of clothes are bound using thread. It is similar to the tie and dye method.

Maura Shibori

Maura Shibori produces a water-like design. It is done by plucking sections of cloth with a hooked needle and looping a thread twice around each section.

Kumo Shibori

Kumo Shibori, the fabric is finely pleated and then bound. It produces a spider-like design.

Itajime Shibori

Itajime Shibori, the cloth is folded several times and sandwiched between two wooden pieces. It creates a repeating pattern of resists.

Arimatsu Narumi Shibori

This is a tie and dye method of creating distinct shapes.

But that is not all – there are more than a hundred ways of doing shibori and the patterns you can make with it are countless.

Some very easy patterns are outlined in this post.

Shibori resist printing tools

You need some basic tools for shibori dyeing – clamps, binder clips, plastic plates or at least thread.

These are used to compress the fabric in specific places so that the dye doesnot reach there.

And fabric and dye, of course.

How to do Shibori dyeing

You will have to follow the basic rules used in dyeing fabrics for Shibori- like washing the fabric thoroughly, to remove all kinds of finishes.

You will need to use the appropriate dye for your fabric. The dyes used for dyeing cotton, and linen cannot be used to dye polyester.

Learn about the different fabric dyes here.

Shibori is all about folding or twisting or hiding fabric parts with different tools or cords and then dyeing , resulting in some areas not taking in the dye. This creates patterns on the fabric. 

The most basic folding technique is to make accordion folds on the fabric one way and then fold it again, and then use some clips to hide selective areas.

Pleat the fabric again. Use clips to hide areas on the fabric surface.

Dye the material.

Dissolve the dye according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Usually, the fabric is made damp before dying. This aids in the fabric absorbing the dyes better in an even manner.

After dyeing for the appropriate time, lift up the fabric with the clamps/tying still on them.

Keep aside till dry.

When dry, remove the tying/folds, etc.

The patterns and designs will vary according to how you have placed the clips.

When the above accordion pleated fabric is unfolded, this is the design on the fabric.

Wash and rinse in cold water. Dry in the shade.

Other folding techniques used in Shibori

The fabric can be folded diagonally, as in the picture below.

This is then pressed partially inside the clamp/wooden blocks.

This will result in a pattern with long diagonal stripes.

When you use partial clamping inside blocks (the fabric is kept inside plastic blocks and then tied with string) a different pattern is formed. 

The resultant pattern is quite pretty.

You can make circular patterns by pinching or folding the fabric into a triangle.

Fold the fabric from where you want the center of the circle. 

If this triangle is clamped inside wooden blocks like this.

The pattern can look like this.

Read more on Shibori here.