My favorite part of the process is that magical moment when you unbind and unfold the fabric that you’ve lovingly prepared and dyed, as you never know exactly how it will turn out.
Laura Bagnall
If you had told me nearly three years ago when I retired from an engineering career that I would be regularly creating and teaching shibori, and even exhibiting and selling it, I would have been astonished. I hadn’t even heard of shibori before I took my first class in October 2023. I was immediately hooked, and quickly moved beyond the simple folding and binding techniques covered in the class to focus on stitching techniques, reflecting my long-time love of sewing.
Growing up, I inherited a love of math and science from my engineering father, and a love of art and fabric from my artistic mother. She was also an excellent seamstress, as was my grandmother, so I learned sewing at an early age. Some of my fondest memories are the two of us ogling beautiful fabrics in various fabric stores. After nearly four decades as a software engineer, I’m thrilled to be working with fabric and creating art again.
For the uninitiated, shibori is the ancient art of manipulating cloth through tying, stitching, knotting or otherwise securing it, and then dyeing it to achieve specific patterns. While practiced in various cultures across the world, I focus on the Japanese tradition and the use of indigo for dyeing. My favorite part of the process is that magical moment when you unbind and unfold the fabric that you’ve lovingly prepared and dyed, as you never know exactly how it will turn out.
I’ve continued to learn as much as I can about shibori, starting with Youtube and books, and then finding both in-person and online workshops. I spent an intensive five days at a workshop with Carol Anne Grotrian, a renowned artist who has combined traditional American quilting and Japanese shibori dyeing for over 30 years. I like to say that I want to be Carol Anne when I grow up, although I admit to having gotten a late start. Next year, I plan to travel to Japan.
I discovered Mystic Open Studios in 2024 while looking for an artistic community to join, and started teaching that December. I love sharing everything I’ve learned, and seeing how my students use that to create new things I never would have thought of. Visit my website for a link to upcoming classes.
Left to Right: Bagnall at Mystic Open Studio, where the central piece on the wall is Spiderweb Variations, shibori indigo on cotton, quilted, 17” x 43”. Tea towels in cotton, 17” x 38”, dyed with indigo; central piece is Yanagi (willow).
My work encompasses both more complex “art” pieces and more “crafty” pieces such a scarves, towels and garments, although the line is often blurry. I’ve created a number of hangings that start with a shibori design, sometimes are pieced together, sometimes have added embroidery, and then are quilted or framed. I’ve exhibited at Arlington Center for the Arts and Mystic Open Studio. I recently participated in my first craft fair and sold out everything I’d brought. I will have a piece in Exploring the World of Fibers 2026, January 10 to February 1 at LexArt in Lexington MA.
It’s been quite the adventure so far. I look forward to where it will take me next.
Learn more about Laura Bagnall on her website https://moodindigoshibori.com and follow her on Instagram @laurabagnall.
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