TUTORIAL THURSDAYS: DRIES VAN NOTEN INSPIRED TOTE

 When I think of Dries Van Noten the first thing that always pops in is that iconic large check that he does so well exhibit A, above. And also, if you remember a few seasons back he was in to the whole batik, ikat thing and in the spirit of that movement I've taken the liberty of combining those ideas in this DIY. For this tote, I employed a japanese tie dye technique known as shibori, which is fancy-pants for well... fancy-pants tie dye.

Accordion pleat (fan-like fold) tote bag from bottom up with each fold spaced equally apart. But leave the handles out.

Then, take the pleated tote and accordion pleat it length wise,  you should get something like this.

Next, take the 2 pieces of acrylic (wood or any hard, flat surface is fine too) And place them
at the top and bottom of the folds like so, and bind tightly with 3-4 rubber bands.

Do the same in the other direction forming a '+' shape. Tie the rubber bands as tight as they will go for best effect.

Lower the tote into the bucket of dye and leave to soak for about 2 hours.
(Not shown: After 2 hours, unfold and leave bag to dry handle side down.) 

And looky here! you've got yourself a nice grid tote in the vein of Dries Van Noten. You can use a brush, dipped in dye to fill in the empty spots but I left mine like that with all the imperfections so i doesn't look too polished. Enjoy! 

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