Workshop
Shibori and Indigo, In-depth
For people who want to go deep into the world of Japanese indigo and shibori, come and learn traditional techniques, but with a personal twist. So join us for a day or two or three, get your hands blue (or wear gloves), smell the smells, feel the fibers, and take home with you some precious indigo treasure that you dyed yourself with memories from rural Japan.
In-depth indigo workshops give you a deeper understanding through experience of why shibori and natural indigo make such a perfect match. Shibori is “slow stitching” and sometimes you need to give it more time to achieve the patterns you want. Through taking your time you can connect to the ancient culture of Japanese indigo and shibori.
AiAii offers 2 kinds of workshop. The standard workshop usually takes 1-2 hours and you can try 1 or 2 simple methods. In-depth workshops take more than 3 hours and you can try techniques that require more time, with an additional cost. All workshops are available in English or Japanese. We can accept 1-6 participants at a time.
AiAii use dye-baths made with sukumo, which is fermented Japanese indigo leaves. Around the world there are different kinds of natural indigo dye-bath, and ways to “reduce” them (remove the oxygen).
The Teachers
Flexible workshop contents
Choose from the following options to make up your own personalised course
Stitched shibori workshop
We will spend 3- 6 hours marking out and stitching our patterns, and a couple of hours to dye and wash. It doesn’t matter what experience of stitching you have, we will scale the size and difficulty accordingly. (There are simple and quick shibori methods, for those who prefer, choose our standard workshop). We can also discuss the pros and cons of various tools and materials or troubleshoot past indigo or shibori queries. Here are some possibilities among many:
- Expressive stitches overview (Hira-nui , ori-nui, awase-nui, ma-ki-age) various qualities of line, you can express yourself by “drawing” with stitches
- Mokume / karamatsu, stitched to make wood grain effect stripes or circles
- Hinode, a white base with small blue “pointy” circles
- Kirameki shibori, makes zigzags and shows off a beautiful gradient in each triangle
- Thin zebra stripes using a pipe.
- Yanagi , Kumo-iri yanagi, zebra stripes with thin white lines across them. Bound round and round with string
- Katano (Kasanenui shibori)
Tour of our indigo field and fermentation process.
The contents will depend a lot on the time of year but also the weather on the scheduled day. We can either talk and show, or you can get your hands dirty if that’s what you want!
- The plants are in the fields from May-September and are harvested and sun-dried 3 times (June, July and August).
- Harvesting seeds and making dried flowers happens in October
- The water extraction method for getting pigment (an alternative to our main activity, sukumo) usually happens in late August or September.
- Fermentation (making sukumo) takes place between October and December.
Seasonal dyeing experiences with Japanese indigo (between June-September)
- Namabazome (fresh leaf dyeing on vintage white kimono silk) there is no fermentation necessary, just the freshest leaves and ice cold water.
- Tatakizome (hitting fresh leaves with a hammer)
Show-and-Tell, questions and discussion welcome
- Shibori techniques. A look at an array of samples and discussion of how they were made
- Our farming and natural indigo vat making process
Art with natural indigo pigment
- Painting with natural indigo pigments in watercolor on paper (gum arabic)
Example and Price
Example 1-day plan
10:00 - 10:30 introductions, “show and tell” part 1. indigo and shibori examples.
10:30 - 12:30 marking out and stitching a furoshiki cloth
- Lunch break
13:30 - 14:30 stitching furoshiki cloth
14:30 - 15:00 “show and tell” part 2. farming process and fermentation vat
- Coffee break
15:30 - 17:00 dyeing and washing furoshiki cloth
Example 2-day plan, 2nd day
10:00 - 12:30 drive to the farm, and do a seasonally appropriate activity
- Lunch break
13:30 - 15:00 marking out and shibori stitching scarf
- Coffee break
15:30 - 17:00 dyeing and washing the scarf.
| Price for 1 person | Price for 2 or more people (each) | |
|---|---|---|
| Furoshiki (price includes fabric and dye) |
¥6,500 | ¥6,500 |
| Daily workshop fee (includes tuition, “Show and tell”) |
¥15,000 | ¥9,000 |
| Day 1 Total | ¥21,500 | ¥15,500 |
| Price for 1 person | Price for 2 or more people (each) | |
|---|---|---|
| Scarf (price includes fabric and dye) |
¥6,500 | ¥6,500 |
| Daily workshop fee (includes tuition, “Show and tell”) |
¥15,000 | ¥9,000 |
| Day 1 Total | ¥21,500 | ¥15,500 |
Prices
Prices include the item, dye, tax and tuition for our standard dyeing workshops
- Tenugui
- ¥2500
- Handkerchief
- ¥2500
- Bandana(60cm x 60cm)
- ¥3500
- Furoshiki(90cm x 90cm)
- ¥6500
- Organic cotton adult t-shirts
S, M, L, XL - ¥8800
- Organic cotton kids t-shirt
110cm, 130cm, 150cm - ¥4800, ¥5800, ¥6800
- Tote bag
- ¥4500
- Scarf 100% linen(40cm x 186cm)
- ¥6500
- Scarf big 50% linen, 50% cotton(68cm x 188cm)
- ¥7500
- For bring-your-own items
- From 1g / ¥30
- For bring-your-own items (Dark Indigo)
- From 1g / ¥40
Memo
- We can accept up to about 6 workshop participants at a time.
- Children aged 5-8 can participate but we request that they have an adult to assist them.
- We can provide aprons and gloves, but please come in clothes and shoes that you don't mind getting dirty. The indigo is safe to use without gloves but your hands and fingernails may stain blue.
- Simple designs take about 1-2 hours to complete. You can take them with you on the same day
Book Workshop
Please book workshops in advance by telephone, instagram message or email.
Booking Form
ACCESS
AiAii is accessible by public transport.Sumoto Bus Center is a 5 minute walk. There are direct buses to the bus center from Maiko train station, Kobe Sannomiya, and Osaka.
2-3-19 Kaigandori
Sumoto city
Hyogo
656 0022
Japan
- Email：hello@aiaii.blue
- Instagram：aiaii.blue
- Telphone：0799-20-5252
We are usually open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10-5pm but it is best to check on instagram or give us a call to make sure. We also happily open the shop by appointment if you let us know in advance.
Workshops can usually be scheduled from Monday-Saturday