*post includes affiliate links to help support this blog
At each meet-up, we watch Anime, I display our newest Manga books, we try a Japanese snack, and we do some sort of activity or craft. Since tie-dying was so popular, I thought, why not try Japanese Shibori Dyeing? Shibori is a Japanese dyeing technique that involves folding, bunching, or bundling fabric, binding it with a resist, and dyeing it with indigo dye. The results are patterned blue lines that are both geometric and organic. If your library has a subscription to Creativebug, there is an excellent tutorial there, which we watched together before getting started. I also recommend watching it before you plan to host the program.
What you’ll need:
Indigo Dye Kit: https://amzn.to/3KbbVaT
Thick Rubber Bands: https://amzn.to/3KbI16g
Wooden Squares: https://amzn.to/3K9FmtX
Cotton Flour Sack Towels: https://amzn.to/3Ky01bn
Cotton Twine: https://amzn.to/4bLYw4K
Gloves: https://amzn.to/3UVTjAq
5 Gallon Bucket to dye in
Sink to rinse
Recommended books:
- Shibori Designs & Techniques by Mandy Southan https://amzn.to/4dQgvc8
- Shibori for Beginners: The Step by Step Guide on How to Make Indigo Shibori Resist Dyeing by Boris Joseph https://amzn.to/3ywwtIg
- Japan Blue Indigo Dyeing Techniques: A Beginner’s Guide to Shibori Tie-Dyeing by Piggy Tsujioka https://amzn.to/45a27rr
The dye kit has excellent instructions that are easy to follow.
You will want to start with clean, ironed fabric. Crisp folds will get you the best final look. Using the books and video tutorial above as a reference, fold and bind your fabric for your desired design.
Next, soak your bound fabric bundle in water to wet the fabric and squeeze out the excess water.
Then, dip your bundle in your pre-mixed indigo vat. You might think that the dye would immediately soak all the way through the fabric, but it won’t! The wooden blocks, rubber bands, and folded layers will all resist the dye, resulting in areas of the fabric that will stay completely white. (It’s magic, we tell you!)
Hold the bundle under the surface of the dye to stay submerged entirely (we used paint stir sticks to stir them and keep them submerged), and allow it to soak. How long you leave your piece in the dye depends on the size of the item you’re dyeing, the number of layers of folds, and how much blue you want in your finished piece. (Soaking for less time will result in less blue, while a longer soak time will allow the indigo to penetrate more of the fabric, resulting in more blue.)
In this sample, we’re dying a 27″ square cotton towel, and we left them in the dye for about 8 minutes. Larger pieces can stay in the dye for up to 20 minutes. You will want to leave them in the dye longer than you think!
Now, all that’s left to do is rinse your pieces thoroughly under water, unfold them, rinse some more… and check out the results!
The picture does not do this justice! Now that we know how to do it, we will definitely do it again!
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