Shifty

In ikat (Malaysian term) or kasuri (Japanese term) weaving, portions of the warp or weft are bound and dyed. The resist created by the binding along with manipulation of the bound areas results in patterns in the woven cloth. In warp kasuri, the warp threads are bound and dyed and in weft kasuri, the weft threads are bound and dyed. There is also double ikat which involves using the bound and dyed threads in both the warp and weft of the weaving.

The warp, bound and ready to dye

Warp dyed and drying; small area unbound at lower right

In warp kasuri, you can also vary the pattern by shifting groups of the dyed warp threads. There are different ways to do this, but I am trying my hand at shifting my warp using this warp shifting box built by my husband, Jean-Francois. The metal rods you see in the center holes and on the floor are used to elevate sections of the warp while winding it onto the loom. I can choose the holes to put the rods in to vary the shifting of the resisted areas across the warp.