"Hexagons" Piece Katazome Dyeing Process - Slowstitch Studio

A step-by-step journey of how we created the naturally dyed Hexagons piece for display at Chiang Mai Design Week 2018.

This one was dyed in indigo and myrobalan nut extract using a combination of katazome/stencil paste resist techniques, some natural dye extract painting and also stitch-resist shibori. First the katazome paste was prepared by blending sticky rice flour, slaked lime and rice bran which has been steamed for 3 hours. This was then applied to our silk fabric through a waterproof stencil and thin netting.

Once the paste had dried we first painted within the lines using a mild rust water solution and then again with a myrobalan nut extract. The tannin in the myrobalan reacted with the rust to create the black color.

Then after the fabric had been washed we stitched, pulled and wrapped each individual motif before dyeing the entire piece in our indigo vat. Some motifs were deliberately opened up to the dye more than others to create the various shades of blue on the piece.

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