DIY Shibori Tablecloth and Tote Bag

I'm sharing an easy tutorial to dye tablecloths and a tote bag with Shibori

What is Shibori?

Shibori is a Japanese technique for wrapping and dyeing items with indigo dye. See those blue jeans you're wearing? They get their blue color from indigo dye!

Cool...so how does Shibori work?

I'm so glad you asked!

I've teemed up with a fun group of bloggers to show you just how easy it is to make your own Shibori-dyed items for your home! Fabrics dyed in this way are each unique, and make wonderful gifts and home decor items.

You can dye just about anything.

Think t-shirts, pillow covers, curtains, tablecloths, towels...any natural material (ie: cotton) will be perfect for your Shibori project!

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Supplies Needed:

The easiest way to create patterns with indigo (or "Shibori") is to use a dye kit. I used this kit which comes with everything you'll need to dye up to 15 shirts...and it's currently on sale!

Additional supplies:

items to dye (I used these flour sack cloths and this tote bag)
5 gallon bucket
something to stir with
a container to hold dyed items
optional: clips, wood pieces, pvc pipe, string, etc

I'm going to share the three different techniques that I used to dye tablecloths and a tote bag...but of course feel free to be creative!

Note: I thought these flour sack cloths would make great tea towels, but they're really big so instead I am using them as tablecloths for the small antique table in my kitchen nook

I'll try my best to walk you through how I got each look but remember, no two items, even those made the same way, will be exactly the same! Each is unique!

And that's really the beauty of Shibori!

Square-panes

Chevron with Hearts

By simply folding and wrapping the fabric in different ways, I was able to achieve three very different looks...each one beautiful.

Here is a general guide of how I folded the tablecloths to get each look:

If you're totally confused, don't worry! There is an instruction booklet included with the dye kit that explains how to achieve different looks with your Shibori. You can also do a Google search to find tons of ideas!

Circles

The tote bag was handled differently.

Rather than folding the fabric, I wrapped sections with rubber bands.

I grabbed small pieces of fabric and wrapped a rubber band around each one.

Once I'd done this to both the back and front, I grabbed several rubber-banded sections at a time and tied them together. Then I folded the handles around a wooden tongue depressor.

It looked very strange and weird, but I love the results!