A Full Bolt of Indigo Dyed Shibori: Geometric Pattern

mid twentieth century
11 yards x 14 1/4", 10 m x 36 cm

This is a full bolt of indigo dyed cotton shibori.

It is long enough to hand stitch an entire kimono or yukata, and this bolt was intended for exactly this use.  

It is always wonderful to find, and to offer for sale, a entire bolt of hand dyed, vintage shibori, and this is a particularly good looking roll of cloth.  Of course the shibori is completely hand-done; the cotton is power loomed and the finished cloth has a wonderful texture due to the puckering of the cotton from shibori.  

Of course, because the cotton has been dyed using countless tied areas, the selvedge edges are not at all even along the length of the bolt.

The pattern is interesting because it appears to be vertically oriented, parallel rows of triangles which is true, but looking at it from another point of view hexagons appear and this is significant. Hexagons, in the language of Japanese symbolic shorthand are a stand-in for tortoise shell: tortoises live a long life so this pattern conveys a wish for longevity.

A wonderful thing to own, and an absolutely beautiful length of shibori.

Recommended.