textiles to truly dye for

the ultimate in textiles

Charlotte Kwan, owner of Maiwa Handprints was the guest speaker at the Victoria guild last night

it is impossible to show you the amazing selection of textiles she brought from her private collection

and we were allowed to touch!

kasuri (ikat) is what I studied and wove at Kawashima for 6 months

it is highly underrated in the textile world

and takes years to become proficient and weave fine, intricate patterns like the one above

this is a kimono jacket I wove at Kawashima

silk weft kasuri, each individual weft thread is shifted in the open shed to create the pattern

the silk weft was spun from dyed cocoons

the picture doesn’t do this piece justice with its unwoven spaces and floating wefts

years ago I saw a similar piece from Charlotte’s collection and wove this piece

woven warp kasuri, dyed with indigo

the weft is paper (shifu)

hanging behind it is another piece of indigo dyed woven kasuri

incredible silk

tied, dyed with the ties removed, then each row stitched in place

stitching that Maiwa has done in India and then made into small bags

underneath is a jacket from Northern China

dyed an amazing dark indigo, coated with egg whites and beaten to give it the shine

similar to those in two of my favorite textile books

Textiles: The Soul of India by Hiroko Iwatate

Imprints on Cloth by Sadae and Tomoko Torimaru

(I think these books are still available at Maiwa)

a skirt from China

dyed with indigo, tightly pleated and coated with pig’s blood

shi sha mirrors stitched between the stitched patterns

technique, colour, pattern and above all talent

it is like taking a trip to another world