Doing up your Home with Shibori

While modern Shibori is done with lots of colors and different fabrics, traditional Japanese Shibori on cotton was mainly done with indigo. The contrast of the blue and white can give bold contrast or subtle shades depending on the technique used.

Wring, Squeeze and Press means Shiboru and that is where the word Shibori is derived from. Japan has a long history of this unique technique. All the techniques related to plucking, pinching, twisting, stitching, folding, pleating and wrapping the cloth and then securing the shapes thus made by binding, looping, knotting, clamping and the like are called shibori as a whole.

Three such terms are also available which relate three distinctive techniques of shibori-

Plangi, a malay-indonesian word for the process of gathering and binding the cloth

Banda, an Indian term for the same process

Trithik, a malay-indonesian word for stitch resist.

Though 2018 sees a re-emergence of Indigo again which are being used in a variety of tie and dye techniques. In the Shibori technique, Indigo is a very prevalent colour with Purple and Rose Madder (which is a distinctive rose coloured pigment made from the roots of the common madder plant)

SHIBORI in Interiors

SHIBORI is the new hot trend in design, creating versatile looks with both light and dark, today it’s popping up on rugs, wallpaper, textiles and more . It can be added to any concept be it a light toned concept like Scandinavian or a dark toned concept like industrial, vintage etc. So you do not need to alter your entire interior to rope in this look, it will perfectly merge with your concepts.

While colorful tie-dyed textiles are most often associated with bohemian-inspired spaces, the Shibori trend has slipped into a wide range of interior styles. Modern homes boast Shibori patterned rugs while both transitional and coastal living rooms may sneak the print in through the subtle addition of throw pillows.

Bedroom

Shibori cushion covers in indigo and blue, sit well on any shade; however, neutrals, whites, and creams work best as bases. When placed with indigo matted sheets, shibori cushion covers add that extra zen-like feeling and liveliness.

Window curtains

Shibori is the answer to bring in more colour and light into the rooms. The shibori indigo and blues grace the panels on the windows which are lightweight, easy to maintain and can bring in plenty of positive vibes with a lot of natural light bouncing off the drapes into the room!

Wall art and wallpapers

With Shibori, your home can turn into a bright and cozy nest. You could go for wallpaper or shibori wall art and decals to spruce up the walls with. There is a certain positive zest feeling that comes with shibori art. Balance the look with pristine accents in glass and white drapes.

Living Room

The living room is a place where we welcome guests into our home. With Shibori, we can now change how our living room looks very easily. Whether it is furniture or floor rugs. Shibori can transform a dull ordinary space into something eclectic or bohemian as your mood for the day demands.

DOs and DON'Ts

The most important thing to keep in mind while using Shibori is that your pick of fabric and print needs to be in sync with your décor. Choose both very carefully as this can either enhance your look or make it look shabby and dark. Some prints have more white and some have more indigo, so if your space is already a dark toned one you should prefer more of a white print to create contrast so that it does not land up making the space gloomy. On the contrary if it is a white toned space experiment with dark indigo prints with little white again to give it a beautiful contrast and highlight the area.

Useful Tips

Shibori is known to be one of the oldest Indigo dying techniques in Japan, most popular in the early Edo period when lower class people where forbidden from wearing silk.

Today it has been modernized and mass produced. Imitating the age old practice of hand dying, these days textiles are produced by screen printing the same designs. So you will find a lot of lookalike shibori in the market at considerably lower prices.

But the special characteristic of shibori resist is the soft- or blurry-edged pattern, which is not found in the screen printed versions where the effect is sharp-edged resist. With shibori the dyer works in concert with the materials, not in an effort to overcome their limitations but to allow them full expression. And, an element of the unexpected is always present.

- Ritu Goregaoker