Quilting Arts - USA (2021 - Spring)

2. Place a length of butcher’s twine
   along one edge of the fabric. Roll
   the fabric toward the opposite
   edge of the fabric like a jelly roll,
   capturing the twine within the
   tube. (fi gure 3)

TIP:Don’t roll too tightly around the
twine; if you do, the resulting bundle will be
stiff and hard to ruche; very little dye will
penetrate the inner layers. A ‘tube’ about 1"
in diameter works well.

3. After the fabric is rolled into a
   tube, hold both ends of string
   fi rmly in one hand and use the
   other hand to push the ends of the
   tube toward the center. Tie a bow,

pulling until the ends of the fabric

are pressing into one another.

(fi gure 4)

4. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 from the net
   bag technique.

NOTE:It takes a fair amount of

pressure to get the pattern to continue

past the fi rst couple of layers.

Variation: Changing the location of

the twine on the fabric in the fi rst step

will change the direction of the ‘fi sh

scales.’ Try rolling the twine from one

corner to the opposite corner, making

a diagonal tube.

fi gure 3

fi gure 4

Dried beans technique

Enclose dried beans in the
fabric—securing each one with a
rubber band—to create circular or
oval rings of white in a sea of indigo
blue. Varying the size or shape of the
bean will result in differently sized or
shaped rings. For these samples, small
navy beans, medium-sized chickpeas,
and large scarlet runner beans were
used both separately and together.

1. Mark a pattern on a dry piece
   of fabric, using a water-soluble
   marker. Leave enough room
   between each ‘dot’—the larger
   the bean, the larger the spacing.
   TIP: Starting a few inches in from the
   edges, I made a dot every 2" down the
   edge of a fabric square. For the second
   row of dots—2" from the fi rst—I off set
   them. I then repeated this pattern across
   the whole fabric. Th is made a very
   regular pattern. For a more organic look,
   be less precise when marking the fabric.


2. Place a bean on the underside
   of the fabric right under a mark,
   smooth the fabric around the
   bean and gather it under the
   bottom center of the bean.
   Secure the tiny bundle with a
   rubber band, wrapping again
   and again until the rubber band
   is tight. The larger the rubber
   band, the more wraps you will
   need for a secure bundle, the
   larger the white ring will be in
   your fi nal fabric pattern. Repeat
   this until all the marks have
   been turned into little bean
   bundles. (fi gure 5)
   3. Soak the fabric in the dishpan of
   water for a few minutes. Remove
   it from the water, squeeze out
   the excess , and—with gloves
   on—submerge it in the indigo
   vat. Gently squeeze and swish
   the fabric slowly under the
   surface of the dye.
   4. Repeat Step 5 from the net bag
   technique.

TIP: It can be frustrating to remove the

rubber bands intact; cutting them with

a small, sharp pair of scissors is a quicker

way to get the job done—just be careful

not to snip the fabric.

2. P
   o s b b S r a i b n l y

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fi gure 5