OCELOT's dye techniques

Ocelot's vision of clothing includes the use of plant dyes and a dye resist technique called itajime, which has its roots in ancient dyeing methods. The laborious process spans several days. It involves folding and binding the fabric between wood blocks, then immersing the bundles into dye vats to create contrasting color. This layering creates luminous patterns that become an integral part of the fabric.

itajime: clamp-bound resist dyeing

Itajime is a technique of physically resisting dye in order to create patterns. Once the fabric has been dyed a solid color with plant dyes, it is folded and pairs of wooden shapes are arranged on both sides of the fabric. Then the shapes are clamped with spring tension clamps, causing the fabric inside to become compressed between the shapes and resist the dye. These clamped pieces are soaked in hot water, then dyed in stainless pots with synthetic dyes. The dye process takes a total of three days, allowing the cloth to cool and sit overnight between steps. [ top ]

endless variations of itajime

The magical moments of releasing the clamps and opening the fabric reveal the repeated patterns and nuances within each piece which make it one of a kind. In Japanese, itajime literally means 'board bound resist dyeing'.It is a dye technique of the greater category called "shibori', which is literally 'shaped and bound resist dyeing'.

In shibori, cloth is bound mechanically through being tied, stitched, compressed, knotted or formed in a myriad of ways. In traditional itajime, the fabric is folded in various ways and compressed between pairs of rectangular boards secured with cording. Some other techniques are to carve the boards or put holes or perforations in them.

There are endless variations on folding and binding cloth to create patterns that are dyed into the structure of the cloth. [ top ]

the power of itajime

The power of itajime is inherent in it's process; through shaping the cloth dimensionally, a landscape of memory is created on the cloth. Itajime creates bold patterns which seem to emanate light. Spheres and leaf like shapes are used as powerful motifs that are repeated, creating a lively interplay between dark and light. As layers of dye interact, the edges of the patterns bleed out in a subtle haze or leave a crisp line, showing the varied characteristics of the dyes. [ top ]