Shibori Techniques Lesson 4 Arashi

Shibori Techniques on Silk
with Glennis Dolce (Shibori Girl Studios)

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four
Arashi Shibori!
Well now we have arrived at what I consider to be my specialty. Or at least that with which I have the
most experience. Arashi shibori (pole wrapping) was developed in the interest of productivity. A desire to
create pattern on cloth in a way that was less time consuming than some of the previous shibori traditions.
And although it took Suzuki Kanezo 8 years to invent and perfect the technique of arashi shibori around
1860 in Arimatsu it was an effort rewarded in the end as it allowed for a new and less costly approach to
producing pattern on cloth. Many thanks to Suzuki Kanezo for his practice and patience.
In this lesson, you will discover the beauty of practice in producing arashi patterning. Arashi translates to
storm-driven rain the diagonal lines representing the torrential rains often experienced during hurricane
season in Japan.
I mentioned earlier that the wine bottle used in this lesson must have perfectly parallel sides. I made the
mistake of drinking a nice red whose bottle unfortunately did not meet the criteria. I didnt discover this
until I was half way into the lesson and had to rewrap the silk onto a pole. But I include some pictures here
anyway (before the disaster of pushing the fabric to the end only to discover that the end was narrower and
relaxing all my nice tight wraps!). I had actually never tried the wine bottle method myself but had seen it
done and was thinking about having you use something you might easily have on hand. Alas, I will have to
open another bottle! Or, you can pick up a PVC pipe at the local hardware store. 2 x 4 is a good size.
While you are there, some blue painters masking tape is helpful. Not sure if I added this to the supply list.
Oops- if I didnt.
Now here is the point where I will give homage to the master. Karren Brito. She is quite clearly the master
here. There are others who have done amazing things with this technique but it is Karren who wrote the
book, Shibori-Color and Texture on Silk. If you have any intention of doing more arashi on silk with acid
dyes just march over to her blog and click on the link to purchase her book. Her blog Entwinements is a
great resource as well although she is no longer updating it or answering comments that I am aware of.
Karren has been a great inspiration to me and I am ever grateful and appreciative. Her level of mastery of
this technique is above and beyond. Not only that, but her knowledge of dye chemistry is superlative. If
you order the book from her instead of Amazon, shell sign it for you plus she will get the benefit of the
sale herself instead of some anonymous Amazon seller.
I am going to warn you now- pole wrapping is fun. It can be quick if you want it to be. If you are looking
for precision, expect to practice quite a bit. Expect to learn by trial and error. Each type and weight of
fabric, each kind of wrapping thread, each sort of dyeset you use will yield different and interesting results.
I personally have wrapped over 80,000 yards of string around poles. Easily the first 20,000 were kinda iffy
by my current standards. Still I have off days. Yet I keep at it. Mostly I use this technique in combination
with steam setting the silk to get the lovely fine pleats on lightweight silk. You can experiment with both
depending on what your interest is.
Okay- lets get started!
1
2010 Glennis Dolce all rights reserved www.shiborigirlstudios.com
No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed in any format without permission of the author
Patterns and templates are provided for personal use only and are not to be sold or distributed in any way.

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
Gather together your supplies for this lesson. This will include bottle, PVC pipe (or any straight sided
smooth tube that is rigid and impervious to water), strong string, scissors, masking tape, your dye materials
and containers, and your fabric. Here I am using some silk organza and a 12 x 60 lightweight (5momme)
silk scarf. In arashi shibori, the dye must penetrate through several layers of fabric if it is folded and
pleated before wrapping - just know that lighter weight fabrics get better dye penetration. Experiment!
The center photo shows various fabrics ironed and pleated ready for wrapping. The one in the foreground
shows an offset sort of pleating. You can pleat and fold the fabric in many ways achieving many different
results. For this lesson I am using a basic accordion fold on organza (back right) and habotai (blue). The
third photo is a picture of my pipe roller that I built based on photos from Karren Britos book
(previously mentioned-see page one). For the wheels I used old rollerblade wheels the kids had deemed
too used to be of value to them (they were roller hockey boys before they took up musical instruments).
If you want to build one yourself- buy Karrens book for detailed photos.
2

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
Step one soak, dye , and dry any of the fabrics with which you want to start out with a base dyed color.
I chose a sky blue in honor of the sunny day!
After your dyed fabric is dried, iron each piece. For both pieces exampled here I folded the silk in half
lengthwise and ironed, then in half again-with a final ironing. If it helps you to pin a long piece to keep the
layers together and behaving, go right ahead. I use only fine silk pins like those by Clover.
3

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
The second step is to wrap the fabric around your bottle/pipe/tube securely taping it in place temporarily in
order to free up your hands to manipulate the thread wrapping process. Keep in mind that patience is key.
-doing a good job in each of these steps will reward you later on.
Once the fabric is secure, you can begin the wrapping process. Begin by tying your thread around your
tube and securing tightly with a good knot. Then wrap around several times in the same spot to secure the
thread even further. Continue wrapping down the length of the tube spacing your threads about apart.
Of course this can be altered in either direction-wider or narrower as desired but this is a good place to
start. Most important is to keep a constant (tight) tension with the wrapping thread as you go. After you
have wrapped 6-8 then stop and while maintaining tension on your wrapping thread (this is the part where
you wish you could quickly grow an extra hand), push the fabric to the end of the tube. Continue on in this
fashion until all fabric has been wrapped and pushed together. Wrap the string tightly over and over itself
to hold it securely and make a knot. Cut the wrapping thread. Here are some photos of the process.
and the video!

4

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
5

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
The last thing to do before dyeing is to soak or wet the wrapped fabrics. Now on to dyeing.
Here is a pole wrapped with white organza. I have prepared a

light blue dyebath using the Colorhue dyes- a mix of turquoise and electric blue.
Using a large brush, I brushed the dye over the fabric several
times until I got the desired shade. Reuse the same dye that runs off. You can also pour over your dye.
Here I chose to brush it over as the organza is such an open weave ( brushing provides more control).
Hard to see here but pulling apart the pleats you can see the original white under the strings. Next, I add
some overpainted colors- building up as I go. Adding scarlet over the blue results in purple.
6

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
Here I am applying increasing strengths of dye in order to build up color and create more contrasts. I left
this fairly light overall. You can use undiluted dye here in small amounts to create greater contrasts.
Here is the result after the piece was steamed, dried, and unwrapped from the pole-
-more on steaming later7


using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
Here is a photo set of the dyeing process again but with the other piece (blue scarf).
In the first photo, the blue polewrapped silk scarf is over-poured with a medium yellow dyebath several
times (using the same dyebath each time) turning the blue to green. Next, a deeper more concentrated dark
green dye solution is mixed to over paint the pole.
Several different colors are applied in this way and here you can see the blue in between by pulling the
pleats apart.
After drying, unwrapping and removing from the pole.
8

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
The two previous pieces were NOT steamed, but just air dried COMPLETELY before unwrapping. In the
following pictures you will see that they have retained the pleated texture. To make these pleats more
permanent you will need to steam your pieces. Here is what I use- it is very primitive and simple.
A small propane burner and large pot for steaming. You need a cover as well.
This can be made of tin or improvised.
I soak my poles in a weak acid solution (ph 4.0-4.5) and steam the silk for 25 minutes. Upon removal, roll
the hot poles on a dry towel to press out the moisture and facilitate drying. Completely dry before removing
wrapped resists. Wear protective gloves to keep from burning yourself (and take all necessary safety
precautions)!
Some more photos of the results-
9

using Colorhue dyes
Lesson Four (cont.)
Repeat! Many times.

No need to waste paper here in case you are printing this stuff out so I will direct you to my flickr page to
see the photosets there. There is an abundance of Shiborigirl arashi shibori to view. Go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdolce/sets/72157602044369091/show/
As in the other types of shibori, there are many variations one can come up with in arashi shibori. There
are multitudes of ways one can fold the fabric. As with itajime, try out some various folds on paper and see
what you can come up with. I like to test things out on a small scale first, work out the bugs or make
adjustments before committing to a larger scale work. Also think about doubling the process. Wrap and
dye once and then again in another direction or fold. What about overwrapping a previously itajime dyed
piece? Use fine string and heavy. Fine fabric and thick fabric-single thickness or folded. One dyeset or
another. Painting on dye or pouring over. Its endless!
Ive been enjoying everyone posting their work and sharing their successes, challenges, and solutions. Keep
it coming! If you missed it, I posted an opportunity to purchase the book Arimatsu Shibori on the class
blog. I have secured 5 at $35 plus any extra shipping involved. I know there are more than 5 of you that
would like to purchase the book and I am working on a deal to have some sent over from Japan for those
who dont get one of the first 5. I will inform you of the price when I get an answer back. Thats it for
now-see you online!
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Shibori Techniques Lesson 4 Arashi

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Shibori Techniques on Silk

with Glennis Dolce (Shibori Girl Studios)

Shibori Techniques on Silk

Shibori Techniques on Silk

I chose a sky blue in honor of the sunny day!

Shibori Techniques on Silk

and the video!

Shibori Techniques on Silk

Shibori Techniques on Silk

Here is a pole wrapped with white organza. I have prepared a

Shibori Techniques on Silk

-more on steaming later7

Shibori Techniques on Silk

After drying, unwrapping and removing from the pole.

Shibori Techniques on Silk

Shibori Techniques on Silk

Repeat! Many times.

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