A Length of Katazome Dyed Stripes: Deceptively Simple

early twentieth century
51" x 13 1/2", 129.5 cm x 34 cm

This is a length of katazome dyed cotton that shows a pattern of vertically-oriented stripes of alternating color: undyed (white) and green.

At first glance it might seem that this simple pattern does not hold much interest, but if you delve into the technique used to make it you will discover that to dye vertical stripes of this type requires great skill.

The stencil used to resist the stripes is of a certain size and therefore it must be repeatedly moved up the length of the cloth to create the long stripes that we see here, and the stripes must be steady and without much wavering. In essence, the cloth needs to be dyed in such a way that the repeat of the stencil is not noticed.

Add to that, this length was resist dyed on both its sides which makes it an even more complex and challenging pattern to make.

This is a wonderful length of katazome dyed cotton and one that holds much secret information--if you do not realize why, that is.

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