shibori texture

[Teri Berry]

Hello

I dyed a piece of stitched shibori last week with the intent of making a book cover from it but confess I like the texture of the silk more than the dye effect. I would really like to keep the texture but expect it will flatten out as soon as it is wetted out for felting. Does anyone know a way to keep the texture while felting (or laminating to another fabric to give it support)?

This is the fabric:


I am toying with the idea of folding it back up into the concertina it was dyed in (that will be a challenge in itself) and spraying or soaking with a dilute PVA glue solution. If I do this, will I still be able to felt it once it has dried?

Any other ideas?

Thanks for your help with this....

[MTRuth]

I like the texture shibori leaves as well. But I think if you put the PVA glue or any other type of stiffener, it won't nuno felt. It would be like the areas that were "glued" using matte medium on the paper lamination process. Perhaps some spray starch to make it hold for a bit? But of course that would eventually wash away.

But if you nuno felted it first and then did the shibori stitching and let it dry, it would stay better. You could over dye it after stitching to perhaps improve what you don't like about the dye effect.

[Teri Berry]

That's a good idea - laminate it first, then stitch and dye it.... that could work Thanks Ruth

[Shepherdess]

If you felt it some more after stitching the felt will keep its texture really well.

[Pandagirl]

Very nice texture Teri. I can see your hesitation to felt it, but I'm sure Ruth and Ann have given you solid advice. We all experiment and were all fiber addicts. I'm a texture addict as well. :-) I can't wait to see the finished piece. Good luck!

[Teri Berry]

Thank you all for the great suggestions, I will definitely start a new piece of white silk and laminate with white wool before stitching for shibori dyeing, I expect it will hold its shape very well if I let it dry before removing the stitching (I have a horrible feeling the stitching will be difficult to remove though).

For the piece above I think I might try something similar to what Zed did a few weeks ago and put some thin wisps of wool in the bottoms of the creases, attempt to fold it back up and then felt it. Not sure what will happen, but its worth a try!

Ooh just had another idea... I could start another piece and poke little wisps of wool into the creases as I am drawing the threads tight.... is it too late to start another project tonight?

[jufergu]

I use a lot of PVA glue and I would not recommend it for this kind of project.

[MTRuth]

I use what is called "button" or "upholstery" thread here in the US. It is thicker and came out OK for me when I tried it. And it's never too late to start a project

[koffipot]

Lovely "mokume". I love shibori techniques.

Ruth's right. A strong heavy thread is easier to remove. I'd use a heavy, waxed thread which will gather up more smoothly through the nuno.  Make big knots - easier to find when you want to remove the threads - they make quite nice design features on the shibori too. Have fun.

[zed]

I've not done shibori dyeing, so it's hard to know really, from what I've seen, the bundles are quite tight. Would it be possible to loosen the threads a little,and then just nuno felt it as usual? I don't know if you've seen my ebook, but I do a section on stitching fabric for effect and nuno-ing it. I think it would work really well for a book cover. I'd suggest doing it to the one you already have, but I imagine it'd be hard to get the folds the same, but gathering it would give a nice texture from the combination of gathering and the dye effect.

This isn't 'structured' stitching/gathering, but you might get the idea:


Camera Pouch by zedster01, on Flickr

[koffipot]

The threads need to be pulled up really tight zed, otherwise the dye seeps right through and the effect is lost.

Love the texture on that pouch.

[halay]

Zed, I love the texture on the pouch too. Tomorrow, I'll play with this.

[Teri Berry]

Thanks Zed, I have a copy of your ebook although I confess it took me a while to find it again (my hard drive is very disorganised). I will give the pleating before felting another go at some point but think Ruth's suggestion might be the most successful for retaining the shibori folds. I have just felted a small square and hope to get it stitched tonight. Hope to share the results by the weekend. I also played with the piece pictured above today, all I will say is that it is VERY pleated and a fraction of the size it was before I started felting. I don't think it bears much resemblance to the shibori folds above but it is interesting and quite pretty. Will share what I did on my blog with the results of the piece I'll stitch tonight. This is so exciting!

[Pandagirl]

I look forward to seeing the projects Teri and Haley!

[MTRuth]

Looking forward to more photos!