1. Saori Weaving
This is the first hands-on workshop we have at Cloth Haven. 10 Saori weaving looms from the Salvation Army Rehabilitation Service were placed in the ground floor space. Participants had 2 hours of tuition from the tutors on the basic skills, then left to practice their skills at the loom. Most were really hypnotized by the movement of the shuttle, and end up spending the whole day at the loom, and enjoyed a sense of accomplishment. In the second session, they were taught how to warp the loom, through which they gain an understanding how cloth were produced throughout history.

Please see more about Saori Weaving at www.saori.co.jp

2. Handkerhief-tie-dye
A brief history of tie dye technique from different cultures was introduced to the class, with actual samples and references from books. Our Yunnan minority tutor showed us the “stitch and tie’ technique to create popular patterns used by the Bai minority, which include the pattern of butterfly, horse-teeth and caterpillar. Traditional natural dyes were introduced, but we used Dylon cold dyes due to limited time and facilities.
References:
Tie-dyed Textiles of India, Tradition and Trade, Veronica Murphy & Rosemary Crill, 1991, Victoria and Albert Museum & Mapin
Shibori, The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing, Yoshiko Wada, Mary Kellogg Rice, Jane Barton, 1983, Kodansha International Ltd
Indigo textiles, Techniques and History, Gosta Sandberg, 1986, Black/Lark
Imprints on Cloth, 18 years of Field Research among the Miao People of Guizhou, China, Torimaru, 2004, The Nishinippon Newspaper.Co

3. Handkerchief – Embroidery
Our Yunnan minority tutor introduced to us the embroidery patterns and techniques used by the Miao minorities. Instead of a transferred pattern, A papercut pattern was used as the base. We practiced the different stitches on handkerchiefs. Particiants who have never done embroidery before, find it most exciting, and eager to decorate everything with her stitches.
Reference:
Embroidered textiles Traditional Patterns from Five Continents, Sheila Paine,1990, Hudson and Thames
Treasures in Silk, Zhao Feng, 1999, Costume Squad Ltd, Hong Kong

4.Hankie Folding
I have been introduced to origami – paper foldin g at a very young age. It has tremendous influence on me – learning step by step, symmetry, shapes and forms. When I design and cut clothing, sometimes I apply rules from origami – how from a flat surface you can produce a 3-dimensional form.

We have invited Chairman of the Hong Kong Origami Society,Mr. David Chan to teach the class. Folding cloth is more difficult than paper as you cannot keep a crease permanently like paper.
A handkerchief, being made of cloth, creates quite different effects. And cloth of different fibers, construction, weight also create different effects. Cloth produces more form and roundness you can unfold and create another form, using the same handkerchief.
One participant is a westerner who teaches young Chinese students English. She thinks this craft would be appropriate in teaching her class. As with every verb, you make a gesture, it helps the students to remember the word while having fun. Fold, turn, repeat….

David's website: http://www.origami.org.hk

5. Hankie -Decorate and fold
We used a combination of the skills learned from previous workshop to produce one-of-a-kind pieces. First the folding was taught, then we mark the areas we want to embellish. I like the idea that it is an abstractly patterned hankie when flat, but once you fold it, the pattern make sense. Ideal to entertain children on the move, also wiping their tears, sweat and mouth.
We made a flower, a figurine, an Oriental figure, an Arabian Prince. Young boys had fun making strange looking figures with beard and weird limbs.