Natural Undies Blog — onions

One of the highlights of my residency at the Chicago Fashion Incubator has been meeting and collaborating with former-DIR, Goli June Bridal. One of Goli’s brides saw our work, and reached out about customizing a set of robes for her bridal party. Our bride chose an eco-dyed color scheme, perfect for her September wedding, that comprised of yellow onion skins, turmeric, used coffee grounds, and soda ash for her custom silk robes.

Shibori is  one of my favorite practices, and there is no limit to the depth and design that it adds to textiles. Simply defined, shibori is the Japanese word for art of resist dyeing. There are many different types of shibori such as Nui (stitching), Kanoko (binding), Kumo (folding), and Arashi (wrapping). I’m in love with its element of wabi sabi- the acceptance of transience and imperfection, and that no matter how long one studies and practices the artform, no two pieces will ever come out exactly the same. In this article, I will be showcasing a piece I made using nui (stitched) shibori that I dyed using yellow onion skins, and modified with cream of tartar.

Due to the current shelter-in-place rules, I’ve had to get creative with dyeing out of my home. Since I’m using dyes in my home cooking pots, it’s imperative that I am working with supplies that are food safe. Luckily there are a ton of natural dyes and modifiers that are easily found in my kitchen! In this project, I am using red onion skins, turmeric, used coffee grinds, and pericón flowers as my dyes, and cream of tartar as my modifier to make a gorgeous eco-dyed silk scarf.