Folk Fibers Blog / indigo
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Shibori Pillows: Cut From the Same Cloth
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I have had so much fun making these pillows, and they are now available in the SHOP ! Hand dyed with natural indigo, using traditional japanese sashiko clamp and resist techniques. 100% kona cotton fabric chosen for the strength, nice weight and softness! Sizes are 20 x 20 inches and 12 x 20 inches filled with feather/down (cotton) pillow inserts Both sizes are fastened with invisible zippers, and the larger square pillows have been sewn with same-cloth piping
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Shibori Sampler
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This is the first example of patch-worked indigo-dyed shibori that I have every really liked. I am now inspired to experiment with it, and maybe even make a quilt? I've been learning through my explorations of shibori and have been regularly practicing these historical techniques. I've yet to use my indigo dyed shibori in the making of my quilts; for a few reasons. I love solid colors, and I especially love solid colors in (my) quilts. But I do enjoy a hand-dyed look to natural-dyed cloth. The subtle variations of dye with saturation and folds shine with beauty in...
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Song of a People
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Christina, Juliet, Me, Ruby Ku, Melba, Chiane, and Ryan took the photo! Today a group of friends helped me tame my over grown indigo garden. It felt great to have the helping hands but it felt even better to be comfortable asking for the help I needed. It was a step in the direction I'm headed with Folk Fibers. I have been moved by the interest and request to teach and share the craft of gardening, natural dyes and quilt making. This positive energy is playing a part in my development and vision for the future, and I strive to offer more workshops and...
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Nui Shibori: Stitch Resist
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I made this stitched resist rabbit many years ago, but I still love it so. Nui shibori includes stitched shibori. A simple running stitch is used on the cloth then pulled tight to gather the cloth before submerging in a dye pot. Stitching affords flexibility and control to create designs of great variety, delicate or bold, simple or complex, pictorial or abstract. This technique allows for greater control of the pattern and greater variety of pattern, but it is much more time consuming. mokume shibori also known as woodgrain
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SHIBORI
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I was introduced to shibori dye methods in college while taking the history of fabric class in the fibers dept at scad. Recently I have been revisiting the techniques. keeping an active indigo dye pot (along a slew of others) at my fingertips promotes the constant activity of testing and experimenting with cloth and color. I love resist dying and when I started studying shibori I found it was just the right sort of sophistication and historical context I was looking for in what I knew before as tie-dye. I don't see the resist dye techniques entering into the crafting of my quilts, for now...
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My Indigo Journey Begins
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"Don't rush, life is long and there's no race to be the first to do anything with indigo, it's all been done for thousands of years. The big question is how do you make it your own, and that takes years and years." -Rowland Ricketts This year I have immersed myself in learning first-hand the age-old-traditions of growing, dying, and processing Indigo. Due to my years of experience in working on organic vegetable farms, I was able to start confident and strong with growing and harvesting Indigo; but then came the question of how to process indigo, meaning getting color from the plant onto fabric?...
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Featured In This Weeks Johnson's Backyard Garden Newsletter
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When I was in need of a sufficient growing space for the Folk Fibers dye garden I went to a guy that I know has land, my former boss Brenton Johnson. The story about Brent starting his farm in his backyard here in Austin is no secret, it's sweet and simple, and printed on thousands of CSA boxes and produce labels. Brent still owns the house on Holly Street where JBG got started in the backyard, and front yard, and both sides. Brent rents out the Holly Street residence and one of the tenants is how he found his amazing graphic designer (and my pal) Ryan...
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FROM THE GREENHOUSE TO THE GARDEN
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Spring Has Sprung In Austin & So Have I ! Six weeks ago I started 500 indigo seeds inside the JBG greenhouse. The JBG greenhouse still feels a little like my house, and Brent is so kind to continue to allow me access to the greenhouse. It is actually really easy to grow from seed if you have a well working greenhouse, sometimes it feels a little too easy, especially when you have a friend like Kim to water for you. If you don't watch yourself you can easily grow a ton of plants and your problem will be finding room for...
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SASHIKO
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I feel in love with quilting by virtue of sashiko. When I hand quilt I always use shashiko thread for durability and function, but most of all because of the beautiful history that defines it. Sashiko is a Japanese hand-stitiching technique, traditionally used by fisherman and farmers to repair holes in fabric. The plain-stitch technique originates from the working class and remote communities. It evolved from the need to protect, or mend, clothing and fabric. The basic technique is a small running stitch that follows the grain of the fabric, whereby horizontal rows of stitches are considered stronger than vertical rows. While the geometric...