Shibori is an ancient Japanese dye technique that dates back to the 8th century. It’s like the pre-historical version of tie-dye–the pattern possibilities are endless depending on how you twist, fold, tie, compress, etc. your fabric.
Since tie-dyeing is my favorite past time I wanted to try a Shibori technique myself, and then create a dress out of the dyed fabric.
One unique thing about Shibori, is that it considers the the fabric to decide what type of technique to use.
I chose a blood-orange, medium-weight, pure cotton fabric–perfect for Arashi Shibori.
With Arashi you wrap the cloth diagonally around a pole and tightly wrap cloth around it, then scrunch it down the pole, and put the dye on.
Historically, shibori was used with indigo dye, but because my fabric was colored (and not the traditional white), I used bleach to extract the color, but have the same effect.
The fabric did not dye exactly how I was hoping, but I was still pleased with the overall results.
