ICHF Show Guide NEC Birmingham 30th March – 2nd April 2006 ­ 1 ­ Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully Blue Jane Callender explains the history behind the indigo­dyeing and shibori techniques which she uses to create fabulous fabrics. The Magic of Indigo dilemma, as a means of safe disposal Both natural and manufactured Know to man in ancient times, had yet to be found. It was coal tar. indigo are available to us today and indigo was harvested from plants In 1830, Berlin chemist Ferdinand astonishingly the process of dyeing flourishing in the hot climates of Runge sought recycling possibilities with either has remained the same. Africa, China, Japan, India and the from this substance and by 1834 had Unique and seemingly magical, it is Americas. We can only speculate as isolated the compound aniline oil. It very different to other methods of to how the blue dye yielded by many was known that natural indigo dyeing cloth and the key word in different species, a prolific genus contained aniline through the work understanding the process is oxygen. being Indigofera, was first revealed of Adolf von Bayer. Even though The prepared fabric is dipped, for a to man. Indigo was extracted from Runge made positive advancements minute or two, in the indigo vat, a the plant thorough fermentation, and into the world of synthetic dye stuffs golden/green colour, and then because it was able to be stored, it he was prevented from further allowed to hang in the air. With the was able to be sold. In the 13t h research – his amazing discovery was introduction of oxygen, absent in the century Marco Polo tells us that suppressed by management. vat, to the fabric, the ‘magic’ occurs plantations were flourishing in India, A surprise breakthrough came in before ones very eyes. The golden a major exporter of indigo, which 1850 when 18 year old assistant liquid on the fabric turns, through had become very desirable. By the chemist, William Perkins, while green to blue and what a blue! end of the 17 th century it was the working at the London Royal Further dips and periods of world’s most important dye stuff, College of Chemistry, by chance oxidization increase the depth of ‘the king of colours’, equal in used an aniline oil base in an shade. demand to silk, porcelain and spices. experiment to synthesize quinine. The colour blue became associated On completion of the test he with power, magic and divinity, and notices a blue/purple mass and often used to symbolize authority further work produced a violet. and spiritualism. The trade routes of 1856 is the date given for his the East India companies were well invention of the first serviceable established, with the demand in aniline or coal tar dye. The world Europe surpassing that for our own embraced synthetic colour and indigo form Isatis Tinctoria or woad. ‘Perkins’ Purple’ was eventually With the production of gas light named mauveine. However it was in the early 1800’s came a significant not until 1897 that the first The magic at work – fabric synthesized indigo dye, pioneered by discovery which transformed the surfacing from the indigo vat. world of textiles. A by-product from the German chemist Adolf von the production of gas presented a Bayer, was sold on the open market. All images, graphics, designs and text are strictly the copyright of Jane Callender. No reproduction allowed without express written permission. ICHF Show Guide NEC Birmingham 30th March – 2nd April 2006 ­ 2 ­ Resisting is Easy! Shibori techniques have one unifying forgotten embroidery. The fabric is characteristic. Dye procedures usually finally opened out to reveal the Below: An example of itajime require cloth to be open and flat, but artist’s secret vision. with a stitched centre. in shibori preparation, the cloth is Stitch resist offers an unlimited worked, as a matter of course, into a range of shapes, pattern and texture. Centre left: Bomaki shibori on three dimensional form, to a greater All the techniques, if to be dyed in cotton. or lesser extent depending on the indigo, are worked on natural fibre Centre right: Stitch resist on technique chosen. It is then secured in fabrics. Here we can find endless cotton lawn. its shape by tying, knotting or binding, variation as different fabrics dye up and then dyed. Shibori actually means differently. The contorted shapes of Bottom: The combination of to ‘wring’, ‘press’, ‘squeeze’ and is the cloth, prior to being dipped, have stitching and binding on cotton. Japanese word that has come to be inspired textile artists and fashion accepted as the umbrella term for all designers to develop the sculptural the organisational and creative skills aspect of shibori. The cloth retains found the world over. The method the shapes and forms it has been chosen to manipulate and imprison forced into after the restrictions have the cloth into its three-dimensional been removed – a sculptural memory. state creates the unique and distinct All these fabrics, patterns and patternings that are characteristic of textures created by shibori, as well as shibori. Bomaki shibori describes the being beautiful in their own right, offer process of binding fabric to a central unique surfaces to work with, and core, the threads’ tension on the into, with other textile techniques. It fabric as it is wound tightly round a is extraordinary what simple stitches core or cylinder creates a resisted can achieve – even when they are no line. Arashi shibori is a specialist form longer there! of Bomaki, ‘arashi’ meaning storm, which the varied resulting patterns suggest. A different dynamic of pattern is achieved by Itajime as cloth is folded, then held in bundles with boards and clamps, prior to being dyed. These resist skills developed in areas where indigo flourished alongside the raw materials with which to construct cloth – cotton and silk, for example. The Indian bandhani technique - meaning ‘to tie’ resulted in fine resisted rings and dots on lovely cottons and exquisite silks. The bold African Adire cloths include bound, folded and stitched resists. The Malay term for a specific tie and dye patterning is plangi, with tritik describing the use of stitches to create a resist. In stitch resist, cloth is traditionally hand stitched with a running stitch and the threads are pulled up tightly and then tied off. This controls the flow and penetration of the dye, and when dyeing is complete, the threads are cut and removed – the All images, graphics, designs and text are strictly the copyright of Jane Callender. No reproduction allowed without express written permission. .