Shibori

Following on from my little experiment with Shibori felting I thought I would share a few of the wonderful items I have found which feature this technique, both felted and otherwise.

Martha Stuart chiffon scarf.

Martha Stuart has instructions here for making this delicate scarf using small stones tied into chiffon.

Mrs Polly Rogers Bubble Scarf

Mrs Polly Rogers has instructions here for making this very chunky, felted bubble Scarf.

The World Shibori Network is a great place to visit to find out more about the techniques used in this ancient craft. Michelle Griffiths is a professional artist/teacher, living and working in South Wales. She is the World Shibori Network representative for UK/Ireland. Her work is on permanent exhibition in her gallery/studio at Model House Craft & Design Centre, Llantrisant, where she continues to develop the shibori study centre with its shibori workshop programme, textile collection, and reference library.

AntiGravity Necklaces by Michelle Griffiths.

Michelle Griffiths Bubble Wrap Fabric.

I particularly like the ‘AntiGravity Necklaces’ and ‘Bubble Wrap Fabric’ while ‘Relief 1’ is absolutely stunning!

Relief 1

I also love the detail in the scarf below but unfortunately cannot remember where I found it!

Blue Shibori Scarf

Shibori is the Japanese technique of manipulating fabric by folding, squeezing, wringing or tying and today I was inspired to make a Shibori felt sample after seeing the one here that Ruth from Feltingandfibrestudio.com has created. The texture and colour scheme Ruth used was very dramatic and I thought this could be a great technique for me to use in a seascape picture to represent waves. I used two shades of blue Merino with the darker one on top and added some strands of pale blue knitting wool. I stitched the folds in place before fulling and once dry removed the stitching and snipped some of the darker shade to reveal the pale blue beneath. My piece isn’t as dramatic as Ruth’s but I am still pleased with how it worked out and can see it being a good technique to give my seascape a 3D look when I eventually get around to making it.

I made a second piece out of some green/yellow Merino prefelt and this time tied small beads into the felt before fulling. Although I had a ‘pea pod’ in mind when I started it I wasn’t too sure how it would turn out. I’m really happy with the result and I think there may be more Shibori experiments to follow shortly.