A glimpse of outer space in your own home
Shibori is a tie dye technique usually associated with the indigo textile dyers of Japan but we found these wonderful pieces in Rajasthan. Trying to describe how they look, I can only say that they look like images of exploding stars and gas nebulae you see in photos of the galaxy. They look good on a bed and make wonderful throws for a sofa.
They're part of a new collection of vintage kanthas that have been overprinted, tie dyed & shibori dyed to create wonderful, spontaneous & unique examples of textile art - you can buy them in the Bedspreads, Quilts & Blankets Collection.
Circles, radiating flares of colour and complex striped patterns that look like a spectral bandwidth of some remote star! Maybe you don't share my astronomical imagery but however you see them they're spectacular patterns, created partly by design but largely by chance and the magic of the process.
As with all out kantha throws, the reverse sides hold other delights. The indigo overdyeing reveals and hides parts of the underlying prints.
These wonderful pieces were created by a family living near Jaisalmer in the Thar desert in western Rajasthan. They have a long history of working with old textiles and have used their creativity to re-envisage and upcycle old textiles with skilful tie dyeing, overprinting and embroidery.
In this next example colourful embroidered diamonds give the impression of a pattern of bright stars in front of an ethereal backdrop. The reverse has strange wispy, ghostly shapes.
This is a great example that reminds us what the term "kantha" means and the origin of these kantha textiles. You can clearly see the lines of kantha stitching that have two functions: they hold the layers of fabric together and are also a decorative feature in their own right. In this case the woman who originally stitched the kantha bedcover together chose to create a diamond pattern of stitching; many years after it was created that stitchwork is still a stunning design feature.
You can buy all our kantha throws in the Bedspreads, Quilts & Blankets Collection collection, select Kantha in the pull down menu.