I've done a limited amount of itajime shibori using clamped resists. Here are some results from this weekend:
1. start with fabric. In this case, a habotai scarf that didn't dye the way I wanted previously:
2. fold the scarf into a smaller and more manageable shape:
3. other tools needed include small clamps
and resist shapes, in this case wooden stars. Metal objects or anything that can withstand the dyebath will work. These stars are precut shapes easily found in the woodcraft area of craft stores, but you need to use the extra thick cutouts as the thinner cutouts are not strong enough.
4. Place resists on both sides of the folded fabric, lined up together, and clamp down as tight as possible. Clamp on as many resists as you want, then soak in a bucket of water for at least 30 minutes (this is important!).
5. Dye the clamped fabric. I used black acid dyes on this scarf. Stir around and try to get the multiple layers of fabric to soak up the dye. When finished, remove the clamps and wash the fabric.
6. It can be hard to get dye into all layers. In this case, the contrast is not that strong, and the underlying colors show through somewhat (the camera flash makes it a bit worse too)
The scarf at the top of the post was similarly dyed, but with a white base. You can more easily see how the top layers of the folded scarf dyed very dark, but the inner layers are more splotchy.
