My current crush is the ancient Japanese resist-dyeing art of Shibori. Shibori is a term for several different methods of cloth dying that’s used to make a pattern by binding , folding, twisting and compressing the fabric to make different designs. In Japan, the earliest known example of cloth dyed with a Shibori technique dates from the 8th century…
There are at least six different techniques for Shibori resist-dyeing that all fall under the category of Shibori and are lumped together here in the West and known as tie dye. Two of the most popular Shibori techniques are Arashi and Kumo. Arashi, which is know as pole wrapping Shibori, results in diagonal slashed patterns that look like rain from a heavy storm:
Kumo Shibori is a technique where little sections of fabric are wrapped around small objects such as pebbles and bound very closely. Kumo Shibori makes a specific spider-like design:
Dress: James Coviello at Anthropologie/ Sandals: Stuart Weitzman/ Necklace: Wildfox via Chic Peek/ Pentagram Cuff: Pamela Love/ Bracelets: Forever 21/Earrings: Carolee
While searching for more Shibori dresses online, I found a beautiful Kumo Shibori dyed maxi dress from Free People (seen below) that seems to be sold out everywhere so I’m thinking I might try this technique myself over the long weekend…
