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Saturday 16 January 2020, 11am-5pm GMT

Virtual workshop, hosted on Zoom by Sarah Desmarais

Please note: the Zoom link will be sent to participants the week before the workshop. 

Sarah Desmarais is a textile designer maker and crafts researcher. She produces hand-printed textiles with the traditional materials of Japanese katazome or stencil dyeing - paper stencils and a rice paste resist that is washed out after dyeing to leave a white pattern on a coloured ground. Her designs derive from drawing and mark making in a variety of wild and weathered landscapes. Her work celebrates the value of slow making and its potential to contribute to a more sustainable culture of textile production and consumption. She has recently undertaken artist residencies with Bow Arts and the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture. She is the recipient of a 2019 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust award, with which she will be undertaking a research trip to Japan.
@sarahdesmaraistextiles

Outline of the workshop
Japanese katazome (or stencil dyeing) is a centuries-old method of printing on cloth using paper stencils and a rice paste resist in combination with indigo or, more recently, synthetic dyes. It was often used in the past to produce fabric for kimonos. In this workshop we’ll look briefly at the history of this art, and consider ways of designing successfully for the medium. Then participants will use traditional Japanese stencil paper (made with sheets of mulberry paper that have been laminated with fermented persimmon juice and then smoked to become waterproof) to hand cut stencils from their own designs. These will be used to print a repeat pattern onto a silk square, using a traditional rice paste resist made from sweet rice flour and rice bran. When the resist is dry, the fabric will be dyed with fibre reactive dye, and then washed out to reveal a white pattern on a dark ground.

Participants will end the day with reusable stencils, a handprinted silk square of suitable dimensions for a scarf, and a comprehensive resource list that will enable them to explore this beautiful textile print medium independently. The workshop is suitable for any level of design or textile printing experience.

A material pack will be sent to participants prior to the workshop. 

Material pack includes:

• Japanese stencil paper, two pieces 12 x 10 cm plus smaller piece to experiment on
• 15g sodium alginate dye thickener in glassine envelope
• 25g fibre reactive dye in glassine envelope
• 100 x 100cm square glassine paper to stabilise silk when printing
• 90cm x 110cm fine white silk (enough for 90cm square scarf plus excess for printing experiments)

Packed in Jiffy 100% paper padded bag

If you would like further information about the workshop,  please contact Catherine Harris, events@selvedge.org.

Workshop Cancellation Policy
All places reserved on workshops are non refundable, however, if you let us know you are not able to make a workshop you have booked at least two weeks prior to the event, we will re-advertise your place and refund your fee as long as we are able to sell your place and the workshop is fully booked.