Kawasemi (kingfisher) Dyed Linen Shawl

Because indigo is a plant, the cloth first comes out green when dyed. Once it is removed from the dyeing liquid and comes into contact with the air it changes from green to blue.

During this process, I wanted to keep the turquoise hues that one can see when the cloth is changing from from green to blue, but while dyeing indigo we cannot pause this process in the middle.

What one can do is apply the indigo after dyeing the cloth with a yellow dye and then we can achieve this beautiful turquoise colour.

And what should I call this colour that is a mixture of blue-green, a base colour of yellow and a soft turquoise that appeared?

Just as I was thinking about this, a kingfisher flew over the river in front of the workshop. So I decided to call it Kawasemi.

This summer I used the nuts, Mirobaran, as the base dye, which were traditionally used to dye monk’s clothing in India.

There are numerous indigos. Please enjoy the variety of shades of blue.

Name: Kawasemi Dyed Linen Shawl
Material: Linen
Size: 60cm X 180cm
Technique: Dyed shawl woven with an old shuttle weaving machine in Shiga Prefecture
Dyeing: Indigo, Myrobalan,