Comfort & Joy

I recently designed and created a dress in response to the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (CCNL) Gallery’s call for submissions for their final show of the year, Comfort & Joy. I documented much of my workings and progress. So I thought it would be nice to shed some light on the design process and workings behind this garment, and naturally dyed hand created garments, in general. So I will share some of the steps that led to this finished shibori stitch resist, indigo dyed dress.

Everything starts with drawing. This is kind of like a mantra for me, especially because I didn’t grow up an avid drawer. In designing, I have learned the importance of studies through sketching and drawing. So, the floral motif that is on the dress, started out as just that. I wanted to explore it more, specifically in the dye studio. I knew I wanted to try screen printing and resist techniques with indigo, so I did some research on each of these processes. The majority of my time, as in any design process, is spent sampling. 

shibori stitch resist

scoured silk noil drying

The design of the dress also began with drawings and illustrations. I drafted a pattern for the dress, and made a mock-up, which was successful. Most often, when I create a pattern and  mock-up, there are changes that need to be made to the pattern pieces . Based on my samples and back up work, I chose to create the floral motif using shibori stitch resist. 

indigo dipped shibori

I had some raw silk noil set aside for this project, and using the dress pattern, I rough cut out the pattern pieces and drew on the motif with a fabric marker. Once I had the shibori stitches completed, pulled and tightly knotted, I proceeded with dyeing the fabric in indigo. Dyeing cloth in indigo takes time and patience, but it's really rewarding to work with indigo, as you get results almost immediately. Also, it's exciting with shibori stitched cloth, because as you remove the stitches, you see the bits of fabric that resisted the indigo dye! 

machine sewing the final piece

After a lot of washing and rinsing, the dye process was complete, so I hung the indigo dyed silk noil to air dry, before ironing, cutting, and machine sewing the dress.

rice paste resist

This dress, like any garment or piece of work that has gone through a time-honoured hand-dyed process, is unique and one-of-a-kind.

I’m excited to share that my dress was accepted for Comfort & Joy 2019, CCNL's year-end show! It is such an honour to have a piece of my work a part of this exhibit. The show opened yesterday and runs until December 23, 2019. 


This year's theme was 'Form and Function', and invited applicants to consider "form follows function” in design process, a philosophy created by the Bauhaus in the early 20th century. The Bauhaus style has arguably been the most influential factor to modern art and design today. The Bauhaus warrant their own blog post of its own, for another day!

There are so many beautiful pieces to see and also buy at Comfort & Joy. A second exhibit titled ‘Felt-Ed’, displaying an incredible work of art by a local fibre artist, also opened yesterday. The reception and gathering for both shows was really special, honouring the work of craftspeople and artisans.