Surface Design

According to the SDA, "Surface Design can be defined as the coloring, patterning, and structuring of fiber and fabric. It is expansive and encompasses papermaking, dyeing, sculpture, stitching, knitting, weaving, embllishing, collage, and so much more." The Quilters Group of the Iowa City Area Craft Guild took a deep dive into one surface design technique recently. We used fiber reactive Procion MX dye with traditional Japanese Shibori techniques to create one-of-a-kind cotton fabrics for use in quilting. Our multi-color textile patterns were inspired by the indigo textiles found in Japan such as those produced at the community indigo vat sponsored by Astrid Hilger Bennett (our speaker at the October 19 meeting of the Iowa Federation in West Liberty). Our process was to 'resist' the fabric, soak it in a soda ash solution and then apply the mixed dye. The dyed fabric was then placed in a plastic bag and left for the dye to set in a warm environment for 12 to 24 hours, and then rinsed and washed. What do you think of our results?