the MAIWA BLOG: October 2020

OUR THIRD FREE LESSON

Scouring

See Our Free Lesson on Scouring

We have launched our new online teaching platform at maiwa.teachable.com. We are now offering our third free lesson - this one on the important concept of SCOURING. Deceptively simple. Proper preparation of your fibres is absolutely essential to even dyeing. Before you question your cloth, your yarn, your mordants or your dyes — look to your scouring. We show you how.

Over the following weeks we will be posting additional free lessons on important topics for textile artists.

MAIWA SCHOOL OF TEXTILES

Online Learning on Teachable

maiwa.teachable.com

In December we open registration for our first roster of online courses.

We have always wanted to expand our teaching to a wider audience. We think that everyone should have access to high-quality instruction in textile techniques, delivered in an engaging visual format.

Watch Our Teaser Here

Taking full advantage of over thirty years of world-wide textile research, Maiwa has been busy writing, editing, filming and producing its first set of online workshops.

schooloftextiles.com

Our website at scholoftextiles.com remains active and hosts our podcast listings. It will also contain all the listings of all our workshops - be they in-person or online.

Make sure you are subscribed to our email list.

Keep an eye on schooloftextiles.com for updates.

Saturday, October 31, 2020 No comments

Blue threads run through our new line of clothing.

We can pick up one end of these threads in Bengal in 2017. At that time everything seemed to be about indigo blue. The Indigo Sutra gathering was happening and there was a lot of talk on the ground about how to revive this famous blue dye for local use. Indigo had been grown in Bengal during British times as an export crop — with disastrous results. But if local artisans could take control of indigo, they could completely turn that history on its head.

We were working with a highly skilled team of weaver-dyers. Once you left the capital city of Kolkata, it seemed like every village house had a weaving shed. People lived and breathed in warp and weft. No day was complete without throwing the shuttle to make a few more inches of cloth.

At that time we focused on dyeing technique. If we could bring up the dyeing skills with natural indigo the rest would follow. The weaving skills were so firmly established.

It was January 2019 when the cloth arrived in our studio in India and we set to work. Yes these really are slow clothes! It is now 2020. The final garments – showing indigo at its best – have just arrived at Maiwa in Vancouver in the past few months. We have dressed everyone in blue. We have taken photos of the fabric and the garments, photos of the stitching and the weaves, we've uploaded everything and are now offering it to you.

SEE THE BENGAL WEAVING COLLECTION HERE

SEE ALL CLOTHING

Stitched in the Sundarbans

A running stitch is a simple thing. And yet, it can add so much to the feeling of a cloth. It is a linear embellishment that works better if it has a little wander in it.

You may know that the Sundarbans are a collection of deltas formed where the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal. It is an unusual area that is often ravaged by tropical storms. One hit just this year in the early stages of the COVID lockdown. In response we were able to offer relief stitchwork. The results are what we love best about artisan cloth - simple but clearly showing the human touch.

SEE THE BENGAL WEAVING COLLECTION HERE

SEE ALL CLOTHING

SEE THE BENGAL WEAVING COLLECTION HERE

SEE ALL CLOTHING

This year’s holiday shipping times are going to be difficult to predict.

For international shipping,

please plan ahead and allow a generous amount of time.

To our U.S. customers – don't forget that the exchange rate works in your favour, it's like an extra discount.

Thursday, October 29, 2020 No comments

Shown: Ajrakh Wool Shawl-Bold Lines worn with the Nila Wrap Top-Ash, Nila Pant-Ash

Any day of the year, really, is the right day for a shawl. We find comfort in cloth, held next to our skin, wrapped around us. Under a coat or over your shoulders, a shawl is so simple - a rectangle of cloth - yet it is the very idea of comfort.

These shawls are magnificent creations best kept close. And they are as versatile as they are beautiful — wrapped around you to stay warm, or even spread on a bed or sofa; a showcase of pattern and thread.

SEE ALL SHAWLS

Shown: Nomadic Rabari Shawl - Journey

Shown: Organic Handspun Cotton Pom Pom Shawl worn with the Nila Wrap-Natural Stripe, & the Nila Pant-Rust

SEE ALL SHAWLS

Shown: Ajrakh Silk/Cotton Pom Pom shawl-Madder worn with the Tanda Coat-Garnet, Tulsi Tank-Natural, & the Marrakech Bias Skirt-Natural

Shown: Bhujodi Wool Shawl-Desert Night worn with the Bandra Jacket-Black, Srinagar Top Merino Wool-Bandhani Black, & the Jai Pant-Natural

Shown: Bhujodi Silk & Wool Bandhani Shawl in Burgundy worn with the Prana Tee-Dot, & the Pondicherry Pant-Madder, or Blue worn with the Bundi Tunic-Lichen , Bandhani Pom Pom Shawl-Black worn with the Nila Wrap Top-Slate Stripe & the Nila Pant-Slate

Shown: Bhujodi Organic Cotton Shawl-Desert Wanderer worn with the Jai Jacket-Indigo & Rust, Liberty Tank-Slate, & the Pondicherry Pant-Emerald

SEE ALL SHAWLS

This year’s holiday shipping times are going to be difficult to predict.

For international shipping,

please plan ahead and allow a generous amount of time.

To our U.S. customers – don't forget that the exchange rate works in your favour, it's like an extra discount.

Tuesday, October 27, 2020 No comments

OUR SECOND FREE LESSON

Weight of Fibre

See Our Free Lesson on Weight of Fibre (WOF)

We have launched our new online teaching platform at maiwa.teachable.com. We are now offering our second free lesson - this one on the important concept of WEIGHT of FIBRE (WOF). Over the following weeks we will be posting additional free lessons on important topics for textile artists.

MAIWA SCHOOL OF TEXTILES

Online Learning on Teachable

maiwa.teachable.com

In December we open registration for our first roster of online courses.

We have always wanted to expand our teaching to a wider audience. We think that everyone should have access to high-quality instruction in textile techniques, delivered in an engaging visual format.

Watch Our Trailer Here

Taking full advantage of over thirty years of world-wide textile research, Maiwa has been busy writing, editing, filming and producing its first set of online workshops.

schooloftextiles.com

Our website at scholoftextiles.com remains active and hosts our podcast listings. It will also contain all the listings of all our workshops - be they in-person or online.

Make sure you are subscribed to our email list.

Keep an eye on schooloftextiles.com for updates.

Saturday, October 24, 2020 No comments

The dyers sometimes wonder what has become of all the beautiful hanks of yarn that they so carefully hand-dyed with natural colour. It seems so long ago that the precious bundles went to the weavers.

And in the weaving shed, many months must pass before the finished cloth can be cut from the loom. When this happens though, each length is a reason to celebrate. Each bolt is a new indescribable fabric with a tooth and a pattern and a voice. Lengths of shot colour or undulating ikat, ingeniously created.

We set to work with rare cloth and this is what we made.

A clothing collection with richness of tone. With texture, softness and drape. With a satisfying feeling and cut to complement. Naturally dyed, ikat woven, or block printed. Wondrously worked in linen and handwoven cotton, some with the occasional stripe of wild tussar silk.

All pieces go together — there is no such thing as too much pattern or too many layers.

SEE ALL CLOTHING

This year’s holiday shipping times are going to be difficult to predict.

For international shipping,

please plan ahead and allow a generous amount of time.

To our U.S. customers – don't forget that the exchange rate works in your favour, it's like an extra discount.

Thursday, October 22, 2020 No comments

MARIGOLD TO MADDER ...

See our Natural Dyes Here

Where our colour comes from ...

Maiwa spends a lot of time with natural colour. Like vintners, we are constantly evaluating a batch from the latest seasons' harvest. We have a table with dye pots going pretty much constantly. Each pot is a different colour ... yellows, reds, purples ... some contain wool, some contain linen or cotton. Sometimes we are testing new recipes for our classes (like those being offered on our new website), sometimes we are testing a new recipe that we've found, and sometimes we are doing our own research, trying to hit a certain colour with a new technique.

Things have not been easy in this strange new normal. We've done our best to constantly be in touch with the dye farmers to keep the lines of communication open. Things will come around. We find we are often able to gain a little perspective when looking over a simmering dye pot. For many of us it is a satisfying and reassuring place to be.

NATURAL DYES

Our Large Sizes ... Always priced at wholesale rates.

MAIWA SCHOOL OF TEXTILES

schooloftextiles.com

maiwa.teachable.com

A SEA OF COLOUR

naturaldyes.ca

See our Natural Dyes Here

BANDANAS

NEW STOCK HAS ARRIVED!

Organic lightweight cotton bandana, great for dyeing and surface design projects. The hem is sewn with cotton thread making it optimal for indigo & natural dyes.

Size approx. 61cm (24") square.

Single $5.25

Set of 12 $50.40

Set of 50 $183.80

See All Blank Bandanas

See All Blank Textiles

See All Yardage

We believe in sharing information. Find everything you need to get started in our comprehensive guide to natural dyes — Free online at naturaldyes.ca!