This is one of my favorite sections so far. Very simple, with some interesting stitching options.
Stitch a Day 2017, Day 61
Having finished the back and most of the front I've moved onto the collar which I've patched with scraps of clay-resist printed cotton that's been indigo dyed. There's also a small scrap of a handwoven cotton I picked in one of the water towns near Shanghai and a few other random bits that filled in the small spaces.
Stitch a Day 2017, Day 57
This is a scrap in my daughter's discard pile of a failed screen print. With the failed bits cut away and tossed into the indigo vat it gives an interesting hand drawn area that contrasts with the sashiko inspired print and linear lines of the surrounding ikat cottons.
Stitch a Day 2017, Day 56
There are lots of shades of indigo blue here. Some were dyed in Japan, some in India and some in SoCal. They all use different dyestuff, different water and different dye recipes, yet somehow the colors blend and mix beautifully.
Stitch a Day 2017, Day 52
Transitioning from the back to the front today. It's been slow going of late. The ikat is a scrap left over from shortening some pants.
Stitch a Day 2017, Day 50
I was happy to find this scrap of a Japanese print inspired by Sashiko patterns. The color picks up the different rust tones of the indigo scrap below. At the top is a bit of screen printed canvas that was a failure, but cut up and overdyed one would never know.
Stitch a Day 2017, Day 49
The center of this section is a piece of rust dyed cotton that I overdyed with indigo. Below that is a piece of shibori folded cotton dipped in a different indigo vat. The rust dyed piece was dyed in the iron vat and the folded piece was done in a workshop using a pre-reduced indigo and a fructose vat. I wasn't very happy with the pre-reduced indigo. The color seemed a bit flat and despite 12 dips never got that rich deep indigo that I can get with just 5 or 6 dips in the iron vat. I think the pre-reduced indigo is the issue. I feel like I get about the same results with the iron vat as from the fructose vat. I prefer the iron vat because it's easier to maintain.
Stitch a Day 2017, Day 48
I just got a small bit done today, working in the same area as yesterday.