ArtFire

This 11"x60" scarf is a rich royal blue (although in the light it sometimes looks almost purplish), with a band of lighter blue lines that merge and separate as they march across the ends. The Japanese name for this process is "mokume" which means "wood bark". I can see what they mean, but every time I look at it, I see chromosomes. Apparently, they didn't examine bodily fluids and tissues under microscopes centuries ago when the technique was developed.

Mokume is one form of the ancient Japanese art of shibori. Rows of parallel lines are hand stitched in geometric patterns and then gathered tightly. The areas that are compressed make it more difficult for the dye to flow into these regions, creating the lovely contrast. Next, the scarf is dyed several times with Procion MX fiber reactive dyes. To make sure that the scarf will be colorfast, it is machine washed in hot water with a professional textile detergent. Next, it is machine washed a second time with Milsoft, which gives the scarf a buttery soft feel.

Care instructions: To clean your scarf, blot with a moistened towel, or, if necessary, hand wash in cold water with a couple drops of gentle detergent like dishwashing liquid. Iron when damp to remove wrinkles.

Re S&H:
Unless you tell me otherwise, this will ship via Priority Mail. If you'd like to save some money by using first class mail instead, tell me so at checkout and I'll refund the difference between Priority and first class +50 cents handling (PayPal will suck up most of it). If you'd like to use local pickup (see "Policies" tab), use the coupon code IBLOCAL at checkout.

silk, Procion MX dyes, Synthrapol, Milsoft