Woven Shibori – the beginnings

I couldn’t wait to start my sampling of woven shibori after reading Catharine Ellis’s book of the same name.

I enjoyed weaving the cloth and it came along quite quickly and enjoyably although there are 2 shuttles in use.
The cloth is tencel and the shibori threads are mercerised cotton. This is a strong, smooth thread which will take the pressure of pulling and tying it.


I used a 16 shaft twill for the shibori thread, starting with 4 rows of plain weave between, then 8 rows then 12. I also increased the length of the twill skips as I wove to experiment in the sample.
I don’t like weaving with a plain, white yarn on the loom, and next time I will probably paint it first like this weaver has done.
After weaving the thread pulling was very easy.
It’s now ready to dye.