Shibori is an ancient Japanese resist dye technique. You fold the fabric or clothing into patterns. Then secure it with string or rubber bands and dye it – usually blue with indigo.
Related: How To Dye Cotton Blue With Red Cabbage (No Mordant)
6 Types Of Shibori Tie Dye
There are 6 main shibori tie dye techniques.
- Itajime shibori: shaped pieces of wood or cardboard are tied to the fabric
- Kanoko shibori: the fabric is pinched and bound with thread to create small circles – it is similar to the Indian tie dye technique Bandhani aka Bandhej
- Kumo shibori – “spider web”: the fabric is pinched and bound to create larger circles than in Kanoko shibori
- Nui shibori – aka stitched shibori: the fabric is gathered with running stitches
- Arashi shibori – aka pole wrapping shibori: the fabric is wrapped diagonally around a pole
- Miura shibori: small dots are formed with a hooked needle and bound with thread loops
What Materials Do I Need For Shibori Tie Dye
- natural fiber fabric or clothing, like cotton
- rubber bands or cotton string
- fabric dye
- scissors
Can I Use Cotton String Instead Of Rubber Bands?
Yes, you can use natural fiber yarn or twine instead of rubber bands! It works just as well: the effect after dyeing is the same. And, I find string is easier to remove than rubber bands after dyeing.
I successfully used cotton yarn, cotton crochet thread, cotton embroidery floss and cotton sewing thread for shibori tie dye. My favorite is cotton crochet thread. But you can also use other natural fiber cords like linen or jute.
Related: How To Dye Cotton Green With Red Hazelnut Leaves (No Mordant)
How To Use String For Shibori Tie Dye
The important thing is that you tie the string as tightly as you can around the fabric so that the dye cannot penetrate the fabric.
Wrap the string only once or twice around the fabric for small stripes. And wrap it more often around the fabric for wide stripes.
And secure the ends of the string with knots so that it doesn’t come loose during the dyeing process.
8 Patterns – Easy Shibori Tie Dye Folding Techniques
Here’s my video tutorial of 8 easy shibori tie dye folding techniques for beginners:
- easy narrow & wide stripes
- accordion folded stripes
- chevron (zigzag)
- squares
- triangles
- small circles
- stitched pattern “wheat ears”
- squares with clothespins
Let me know in the comments what’s your favorite shibori tie dye pattern. 😀