India, Studio Medium, Resist Dye & Fibre Upcycling

As well as creating textiles and garments using the handwoven and resist dyeing techniques of bandhani and shibori, Studio Medium specialises in using the textile left over from these processes. Bandhani–which involves tying the cloth–leaves behind mountains of tiny cotton threads. Once untied, the bandhani yarn discards are collected, and by the end of the year there are sacks full of this material. The entangled yarns have a clay-like quality. They are extremely malleable yet they have a distinct character of their own. The process of reuse starts with segregating the threads according to their colours.  This is a long process which needs careful handling of the material to keep the texture intact. 

With fabrics scraps left over from cutting garments, the rule at Studio Medium is to not cut the fabrics further.  This prevents further waste and at the same time lends a particular character to each textile. The scraps are placed together on a long table and slowly with each placement a composition emerges, before being hand-stitched to create a larger textile piece. 

To follow the story of Studio Medium, find them on social media here.