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Mary Taguchi
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+61 2 4849 4460
mingei@hinet.net.au
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Indigo dyed cotton textiles
It is indigo dye that makes the beautiful blues of the rustic country cotton textiles of Japan. Working with the dyers and weavers of families who have spent a lifetime in this work, Mary Taguchi has researched and collected patterns from the past. She regularly brings cloths to her studio in the countryside of New South Wales to make into clothing, scarves, table runners, cushions, bags. All fabrics are woven or stencilled in the traditional sized bolt of 38cm x 11.8m. Samples below show the indigo decorating techniques to produce the blue and white of kasuri, katazome, sashiko, shibori, shima.
Indicative only
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Kasuri: meaning 'blurred', kasuri is created by weaving together thread that has been predyed with a calculated pattern. This yarn is resist dyed by binding it with string in predetermined areas. After dyeing in the vat, the bindings are removed and white areas are revealed. The patterns are soft edged, lively and full of meaning.
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Katazome: 'stencil dyeing', where fabric is covered with paste in the areas that are to remain white. A stencil of paper stiffened with persimmon tannin is cut with razor sharp tools into intricate patterns. The paste resist is applied through the stencil. After dyeing, the paste will be washed away to reveal the white areas.
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Sashiko: plain stitching through layers of cotton for sturdiness, sashiko has long been used to prolong the life of indigo-dyed work clothes worn by farmers, fishermen and their families. Stitching patterns are predominantly geometric, with additional motifs of hemp leaf, tortoise shell, arrow, family crests.
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Shibori: 'tie dyeing' describes the dyeing process by which designs are created when fabric is pinched, folded, gathered, knotted, tied, pleated or stitched; with tight binding, fabric is protected from dye when it is immersed in the vat and will reveal white areas from the process.
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Shima: indigo dyed woven cotton stripes, originally considered rustic because of their simplicity, became extremely fashionable in the Edo period (1612-1867). Striped fabric came from Europe to China and then by ship through Okinawa to the mainland of Japan.
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