Shibori experiment continued

As promised, here is a picture of the stitched shibori shirt I posted about yesterday. The sleeve on the left of the picture and the body of the shirt on the right side are done using the mokume stitch, which resembles woodgrain. Diagonally down the center, I used the karamatsu stitch, which is concentric circles stitched on a fold. The rest of the shirt is scrunched, and I dyed it using low water immersion. Below are some closeup shots:

My impression overall is that combining the patterns made the shirt too busy. However, I do love the individual patterns, and will be continuing to experiment and improve my skills in these methods.

Stitching

As promised, I am posting pictures of my next experiment with karamatsu and mokume shibori. I used the methods on a t-shirt:

In this picture, I have already begun to pull the running stitches taut. I created a series of concentric circles on a diagonal fold (see the 'scalloped' area to the left). Then I stitched rows of running stitches from the side of the shirt to the circles.

This is the sleeve on the other side, before I pulled the stitches to gather them.

We've had rain all day today, and by the time I dyed and washed the shirt, it was too dark to take pictures. So I will try to get some taken tomorrow and post them.

Karamatsu and Mokume experiment

Well, now that the last bag has been sewn, and the thick layer of fur vacuumed up, I am back to my shibori experiments. I received the book I ordered on shibori, read through it and found good written and visual instructions on a number of techniques. So I am back to trying them out on scraps of old t-shirt. Here is the latest:

The pattern on the left is mokume, a series of parallel running stitches. On the right is karamatsu, created by folding the fabric and using a running continuous stitch to form concentric circles. Hard to describe, and I will post pictures of the process as I go along. Right now I am using these stitches to create a design on a t-shirt, so I will post pictures of the various steps.

It's good to be back dyeing again! Of all the creative techniques I have learned and used over the years, I think dyeing is the one I enjoy the most. It's messy, and at times frustrating, but I love the many different ways I can use it in my art... and it satisfies my constant craving for color more than any other medium!