I've been waiting for our posts to be transferred here to the forum section -- but guess it may be going to take longer than I originally anticipated.  So to get things flowing at this location -- start your comments and thoughts here rather than posting them at the group location.  Clear as mud:-)  I thought so.

Comments

RuTemple (not verified)

Thanks, Beryl!

I just picked up Catharine Ellis' book on woven shibori (she basically developed the idea) and it's fascinating and full of gorgeous samples. 

As I paint silk, and have done arashi shibori, just hearing about the technique fascinated me, and seeing all these examples has me placing this technique Up! on my list of Things I Want to Try (a Bunch of) Soon.

 

[edited to correct spelling of Catharine's name]

fluffi5 (not verified)

Hi folks!

I wove a warp of woven shibori about a year and a half ago just to see what it was like. I really enjoyed it and just bought some more yarn to weave some scarves this summer. Catherine Ellis will be coming here to teach a workshop in the fall and I was lucky enough to get in before it filled up. I figure the more experience I have playing on my own, the more I'll get out of the workshop.

berylmoody

Does anyone have good sources for the strong gathering threads in woven shibori?  I bought some fine nylon in a weaving estate sale many years ago.  There was a lot of it, but my supply is dwindling fast.  Also, I've used some multi-ply mercerized cotton that is extremely strong and still have a lot of it.  It leaves a bit bigger hole and on one item it left permanent marks.  I'd love to hear what everyone is using and if they have sources for more.

Su Butler

HI Beryl.....I have used Maysville rug warp, heavy fishing line (very difficult to tie off) and cotton/poly yarn for the shibori gathering threads.  So far my favorite is the Maysville rug warp - of all things!  It is easy to gather, and strong enough to pull hard.  After the piece is dyed, I am usually quite impaitent to see the patterning, and often remove the shibori threads while the piece is still damp.....the Maysville is easy to pull out even when wet.  It does leave a hole in the piece, but so far all such holes have washed out for me.  I am anxious to hear what others use as their shibori thread, and hope that the persons taking the class from Catharine will let us know what she recommends. 

fluffi5 (not verified)

I used 6 strand embroidery floss that I found on clearance at the craft store. I've heard that mercerized cotton works well too but I haven't tried it myself.

Evelyn (not verified)

Hi - I have just purchased the Catherine Ellis book on woven shibori and am hoping to begin learning more and experimenting soon.  I have woven one sample piece with a guild project and really love the effects.

This forum will be a great learning place.  Thanks for the information sharing everyone!

 

berylmoody

I think the Catherine Ellis book has enough possibilities to keep us all busy for a long time.  I hope everyone will feel free to post pictures of their shibori works here -- both in progress and finished.

fluffi5 (not verified)

A few days ago I wound a silk noil warp for some shibori scarves. Anyone have any tips on weaving silk noil, shibori or otherwise? I've not tried it before.

 

BlueLoom (not verified)

Not to be picky--well, OK, yes, I'm being picky--but Ellis's first name is spelled Catharine.

Su Butler

Silk noil is a great fiber for scarves.  It dyes beautifully - so a perfect candidate for loom woven shibori - and has a softer hand the more it is used.  It is a relatively sturdy yarn to use for a scarf.  The only think I would say is be careful to keep you tension at a good level....not to tight, as silk noil yarn can start to come apart if the tension is too high.  But a normal weaving tension - enough to get a shed and be able to beat in the weft, without getting "guitar-string" tight, will work well.  It can feel a little heavy, so be sure to use an appropriate sett for the weave structure you choose.  I think you will be quite pleased with the finished product!  Happy weaving!

Evelyn (not verified)

apologies to Catharine - I even had the book right beside me!  Thanks for the reminder.  ;)

 

 

Evelyn (not verified)

what sort of threading will you use?

fluffi5 (not verified)

Thanks for the tips, Subu!

I'm going to try an 8 shaft huck threading, see what I get.

Maryse Levenson (not verified)

I just made 3 rayon chenille shibory scarves.  I love the effect but was wondering if any one in this group has tried to steam rayon chenille scarves  to keep the "pleats" made by the gathering thread?  For the gathering thread I used a strong cotton bought at Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for your help.

Maryse

Su Butler

HI Maryse.....Rayon chenille will form permanent "wrinkles" if subjected to heat and pressure.  I do not know if it will retain permanent pleats, but you might try gathering it, steaming it, then, while it is hot, run it through a high spin cycle in your washer.....no water, just spin the heck out of it.......the pleats MIGHT remain......the downside to this is the body of the piece might retain wrinkles where you don't want them as well.......maybe a sampler is in order instead of risking an entire finished scarf......I think I'll try this in a couple weeks......if you do it first, please let us know what happens, and if you don't, I'll be sure to report back.......

Su :-)

Maryse Levenson (not verified)

Thanks Su!   Maryse

berylmoody

If you do any experiments with the permanent pleating, please let us know how things turn out.  One thing to think about is that if you do make something that you want to be permanently pleated, you need to make sure that the finished width is an ample size.  The permanent pleats really scrunch a piece up.

Maryse Levenson (not verified)

Thank you Beryl.  It will take me sometime to experiment but when I have some answers, I will let you know.

BTW, weren't you in the Complex Weavers Kumihimo Study Group when I was the 'leader'? 

Happy weaving.

Maryse

marie payne (not verified)

I have done a fair number of pieces in the woven shibori technique now and am using fine #6 fishing line for the shibori threads and find that it works very well.  It is easily removed when you have finished your dyeing or steaming.

marie payne (not verified)

I have tried some polyester weft thread and also some "orlec" weft threads when wanting to get permanent pleating and both will work if steamed after the shibori threads are gathered, but I found that the "orlec" threads work the best.  I get my "orlec" from Brassards in Quebec, Canada  www.mbrassard.com 

berylmoody

I wasn't familiar with "orlec" fiber and did a web search.  It looks like Camilla Valley also sells it -- and that it is an acrylic yarn.

I find that the polyester yarns I have used for permanent pleating have a faint smell to them after they are steamed.  I don't really like the odor, so I may try some of the orlec yarn to see what the difference is.  Thanks for tip, Marie!

marie payne (not verified)

I believe Camilla does sell the 2/8 size "orlec", but I wanted the finer 2/16 so went to Brassard's.  In fact it is less expensive purchasing directly from Brassard.

augustdragon (not verified)

I have the Woven Shibori book also.   It's so much fun.  The random tie up is my favorite for weaving.  I use Aunt Lydias Classic Crochet thread for the pull up threads.  So far it works out just fine for me.  I just recently found an article on weaving shibori on a rigid heddle loom with a pick up stick.  Going to do a few samples on my Cricket loom and use them to hopefully entice more weavers into the joys and magic of woven shibori. Want to show beginning weavers that one does not need a huge loom to create wonderful things.

Karen

RuTemple (not verified)

Thanks, Beryl!

I just picked up Catharine Ellis' book on woven shibori (she basically developed the idea) and it's fascinating and full of gorgeous samples. 

As I paint silk, and have done arashi shibori, just hearing about the technique fascinated me, and seeing all these examples has me placing this technique Up! on my list of Things I Want to Try (a Bunch of) Soon.

 

[edited to correct spelling of Catharine's name]

fluffi5 (not verified)

Hi folks!

I wove a warp of woven shibori about a year and a half ago just to see what it was like. I really enjoyed it and just bought some more yarn to weave some scarves this summer. Catherine Ellis will be coming here to teach a workshop in the fall and I was lucky enough to get in before it filled up. I figure the more experience I have playing on my own, the more I'll get out of the workshop.

berylmoody

Does anyone have good sources for the strong gathering threads in woven shibori?  I bought some fine nylon in a weaving estate sale many years ago.  There was a lot of it, but my supply is dwindling fast.  Also, I've used some multi-ply mercerized cotton that is extremely strong and still have a lot of it.  It leaves a bit bigger hole and on one item it left permanent marks.  I'd love to hear what everyone is using and if they have sources for more.

Su Butler

HI Beryl.....I have used Maysville rug warp, heavy fishing line (very difficult to tie off) and cotton/poly yarn for the shibori gathering threads.  So far my favorite is the Maysville rug warp - of all things!  It is easy to gather, and strong enough to pull hard.  After the piece is dyed, I am usually quite impaitent to see the patterning, and often remove the shibori threads while the piece is still damp.....the Maysville is easy to pull out even when wet.  It does leave a hole in the piece, but so far all such holes have washed out for me.  I am anxious to hear what others use as their shibori thread, and hope that the persons taking the class from Catharine will let us know what she recommends. 

fluffi5 (not verified)

I used 6 strand embroidery floss that I found on clearance at the craft store. I've heard that mercerized cotton works well too but I haven't tried it myself.

Evelyn (not verified)

Hi - I have just purchased the Catherine Ellis book on woven shibori and am hoping to begin learning more and experimenting soon.  I have woven one sample piece with a guild project and really love the effects.

This forum will be a great learning place.  Thanks for the information sharing everyone!

 

berylmoody

I think the Catherine Ellis book has enough possibilities to keep us all busy for a long time.  I hope everyone will feel free to post pictures of their shibori works here -- both in progress and finished.

fluffi5 (not verified)

A few days ago I wound a silk noil warp for some shibori scarves. Anyone have any tips on weaving silk noil, shibori or otherwise? I've not tried it before.

 

BlueLoom (not verified)

Not to be picky--well, OK, yes, I'm being picky--but Ellis's first name is spelled Catharine.

Su Butler

Silk noil is a great fiber for scarves.  It dyes beautifully - so a perfect candidate for loom woven shibori - and has a softer hand the more it is used.  It is a relatively sturdy yarn to use for a scarf.  The only think I would say is be careful to keep you tension at a good level....not to tight, as silk noil yarn can start to come apart if the tension is too high.  But a normal weaving tension - enough to get a shed and be able to beat in the weft, without getting "guitar-string" tight, will work well.  It can feel a little heavy, so be sure to use an appropriate sett for the weave structure you choose.  I think you will be quite pleased with the finished product!  Happy weaving!

Evelyn (not verified)

apologies to Catharine - I even had the book right beside me!  Thanks for the reminder.  ;)

 

 

Evelyn (not verified)

what sort of threading will you use?

fluffi5 (not verified)

Thanks for the tips, Subu!

I'm going to try an 8 shaft huck threading, see what I get.

Maryse Levenson (not verified)

I just made 3 rayon chenille shibory scarves.  I love the effect but was wondering if any one in this group has tried to steam rayon chenille scarves  to keep the "pleats" made by the gathering thread?  For the gathering thread I used a strong cotton bought at Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for your help.

Maryse

Su Butler

HI Maryse.....Rayon chenille will form permanent "wrinkles" if subjected to heat and pressure.  I do not know if it will retain permanent pleats, but you might try gathering it, steaming it, then, while it is hot, run it through a high spin cycle in your washer.....no water, just spin the heck out of it.......the pleats MIGHT remain......the downside to this is the body of the piece might retain wrinkles where you don't want them as well.......maybe a sampler is in order instead of risking an entire finished scarf......I think I'll try this in a couple weeks......if you do it first, please let us know what happens, and if you don't, I'll be sure to report back.......

Su :-)

Maryse Levenson (not verified)

Thanks Su!   Maryse

berylmoody

If you do any experiments with the permanent pleating, please let us know how things turn out.  One thing to think about is that if you do make something that you want to be permanently pleated, you need to make sure that the finished width is an ample size.  The permanent pleats really scrunch a piece up.

Maryse Levenson (not verified)

Thank you Beryl.  It will take me sometime to experiment but when I have some answers, I will let you know.

BTW, weren't you in the Complex Weavers Kumihimo Study Group when I was the 'leader'? 

Happy weaving.

Maryse

marie payne (not verified)

I have done a fair number of pieces in the woven shibori technique now and am using fine #6 fishing line for the shibori threads and find that it works very well.  It is easily removed when you have finished your dyeing or steaming.

marie payne (not verified)

I have tried some polyester weft thread and also some "orlec" weft threads when wanting to get permanent pleating and both will work if steamed after the shibori threads are gathered, but I found that the "orlec" threads work the best.  I get my "orlec" from Brassards in Quebec, Canada  www.mbrassard.com 

berylmoody

I wasn't familiar with "orlec" fiber and did a web search.  It looks like Camilla Valley also sells it -- and that it is an acrylic yarn.

I find that the polyester yarns I have used for permanent pleating have a faint smell to them after they are steamed.  I don't really like the odor, so I may try some of the orlec yarn to see what the difference is.  Thanks for tip, Marie!

marie payne (not verified)

I believe Camilla does sell the 2/8 size "orlec", but I wanted the finer 2/16 so went to Brassard's.  In fact it is less expensive purchasing directly from Brassard.

augustdragon (not verified)

I have the Woven Shibori book also.   It's so much fun.  The random tie up is my favorite for weaving.  I use Aunt Lydias Classic Crochet thread for the pull up threads.  So far it works out just fine for me.  I just recently found an article on weaving shibori on a rigid heddle loom with a pick up stick.  Going to do a few samples on my Cricket loom and use them to hopefully entice more weavers into the joys and magic of woven shibori. Want to show beginning weavers that one does not need a huge loom to create wonderful things.

Karen

Group Audience