A Length of Taiten Shibori: Murasaki

mid twentieth century
67" x 13", 170 cm x 33 cm

Taiten shibori is a type of shibori where a length of cloth is compressed along a series of stiff warp yarns before it is dyed. The stiff warp yarns are removed after dyeing.

The result of this process can be seen here: a series of small, regularly spaced blips that dot the entire length of this gauzy, lightweight cotton. This length of taiten shibori is interesting for its dark purplish color tone known as murasaki; the dye is not natural or botanical.

The cotton is lightweight and drapes easily and judging from the bottom of the length this piece was taken from a bolt of taiten shibori and is not extracted from an already-made garment. There is a very faint cloud of fading on the center, right area of the cloth. It is barely visible.

A wonderful length of old, shibori cloth.