I finished weaving, tying, and dyeing today.  And wowza!  It’s probably possible to make woven shibori ugly, but I haven’t managed it so far.  (Well, except the one time when the dyes didn’t “take”, but that was a dyeing issue, not a design one!)

Because I tried out six different patterns, and wanted to show closeups of each, I decided to print out a small copy of the profile draft for the ties and photograph it with each sample.  So I did, and here they are:

I painted it with Polar Red and Lanaset Royal Blue dyes, blue on one side and Polar Red (fuchsia) on the other.  What glorious shades of color!!  (Not entirely surprising, though.  I’ve done samples of virtually every two-color combination in the Lanasets, and selected those two colors because they produce a gorgeous purple.  So this is not just good luck!)

Anyway, how woven shibori works is starting to get clearer, but I need to sit down and really think about these samples (especially the failed attempts at diamonds) before I can “get” it.

Next I will try combining shibori patterns with patterns woven into the cloth.  This becomes complex very rapidly, so I will try to keep things simple – perhaps just a single diamond woven in the center of a square motif.

And maybe, after sampling, I’ll go back to plainweave.  This last set of samples is plainweave, and would probably look way too “busy” in any other structure.

Tomorrow’s my weaving study group – can’t wait to share these samples with the other study group members!

Having gotten the urge to play with complex designs out of my system, I’m settling down for some serious experimentation with woven shibori.  I’m testing what happens with square designs, diamond designs, and mixing plainweave with floats (on either side of the fabric).  Here is the profile draft (showing only the ties) of what I am currently weaving:

Because this is the profile draft and doesn’t show the plainweave background, you’ll have to mentally add four rows of plainweave between each row of ties.

Here is roughly what I think is happening.  Consider this an “artist’s concept”; this is all happening in 3D and all you get to see at any given point is a cross-section.  It’s more my intuitive idea of what happens when the ties are pulled taut (the straight line represents the ties):

Basically a section of fabric can be either above or below the tie.  If it’s on top, it folds to the top; the height of the fold is dictated by the length of the float.  If it’s below the tie, then it folds to the bottom.  Plainweave sections are a sequence of very short alternations from top to bottom.  I am pretty sure the diamond pattern on the bottom is an inaccurate depiction, but I’m sort of at a loss re how to diagram it adequately using only a cross-section!  In theory it should balloon up in a diamond form, in practice it seems to collapse into folds.

Whether a fabric is on top or bottom influences what color it winds up as, if you are using two colors.  I plan to dye using two colors for this piece (which will be about 50″ long, all told) to illustrate the difference between above and below the ties.  I’m currently about 1/3 of the way through the weaving, and expect to finish the weaving tomorrow evening, pull the ties on Thursday, and dye the fabric on Friday morning.  I may break it up into two sections to make things go a little faster.

I have also switched to using 4 lb test monofilament nylon fishing line, which disrupts the pattern a little less than the nylon upholstery thread.  It is a little slippery and a little weaker than I would ideally want.  Since I am also going through it at a rapid clip, I’ve ordered a 1-lb reel (about 7000 yards) of 6-lb test fishing line.  That should be stronger, and is enough to keep me occupied for awhile.  I ordered it from an online fishing surplus shop (who knew there was such a thing?!?) so it wasn’t too expensive, about $35 for the 1-pound reel.

I wove and dyed two more sets of samples today, which came out significantly better.   (That’s code for “The samples are gorgeous!”)  I’m a bit frustrated, though, in that I still don’t understand the “rules” of woven shibori – it’s starting to become a little clearer, but it’s still like trying to see through mud.

But because pictures are much more fun than theory, here are a few photos:

I think that the widely spaced ties produce more diffuse, softer effects than the closer-spaced ties.  I think that the diamond motif is more pronounced with the more closely spaced ties, but it’s hard to tell because of the irregularity of the dye job.  Clearly I will have to get more consistent with my dye application before I can draw any concrete conclusions.  🙁  Next time, I will apply the dye to both sides using a paintbrush, not a syringe; I think that will give me more control.

Some notes on the dyeing:

• Sample #1 was dyed in an immersion dyebath using Lanaset Royal Blue 70%, Sun Yellow 30%.  I tied the sample and threw it directly into the dyebath without presoaking, and squeezed the sample a few times in the dyebath (before it got too hot to handle) to encourage the dye to penetrate.  Nonetheless the dye didn’t penetrate too far into the bundle.  Large dye molecules at work, I guess.
• Sample #2 was briefly soaked in a 50-50 vinegar/water solution before being painted with Lanaset Royal Blue and Mustard dyes, 1% dye stock used directly from the bottle.  It was painted with a syringe (in retrospect I should have used a paint brush for better control) and as a result the blue blended significantly with the yellow.  The resulting color is very complex and fascinating – the photos, despite color correction, really don’t do justice either to the jewel-like glow of the silk or to the complexity of the color.  I’ll try to take a better photo in daylight.

What’s next?  Well, I have one more sample of the same cloth woven and ready to dye.  Tomorrow morning I’ll tie it and dye it, either in an immersion dyebath of WashFast Acid dye, a mix of Magenta and Golden Yellow, or else paint it (using a PAINT BRUSH!) with those same two colors.

Tomorrow I’m also planning to start my drawing exercises again, and possibly make it to the gym.  With chocolate season coming up fast, I’d better start working out again soon!

Yes, as of yesterday I have been weaving for exactly four years…wow!  What an adventure it’s been.  From first baby steps to wedding dress…and beyond that, doubleweave, taquete, and woven shibori!  May the years following be as exciting, and as fun.

I celebrated yesterday by drafting and weaving a bunch more experiments in woven shibori.  I used the same basic weave that I liked last time (draft #27803 from the Handweaving.net archives).  This time, however, I am experimenting with two things: (1) weaving the ties in plain weave in the areas I want to stay undyed (I noticed in my first samples that plain weave = white where ties are concerned), and (2) spacing of the ties.  In the first sample, I’m using the same spacing as before (ties after every 4 threads, or about 1/8″); in the second spacing, I’m halving the number of ties (ties after every 8 threads, or about 1/5″); in the third spacing, I’ve cut the number of ties down to two per motif, which results in about 1/2″ spacing.

Here are drafts and photos:

I haven’t yet had a chance to pull and tie the threads, planning to do that at lunchtime, and dye either tomorrow night (though I have a painting lesson that evening, so maybe not) or on Saturday.  On Karren’s suggestion, I will use Cibacron F to get better penetration – but that dyebath takes a good 2 to 2.5 hours so better to do it on the weekend, I think.  I am still debating whether to dye each side different colors using a syringe to apply the colors, or whether to use a mixed-color immersion dyebath.  In the latter case I am curious about Karren’s comment that mixed colors result in more complex color because the two colors will travel different distances.  That sounds interesting to me!

Off to design class!