‘Invent-re-invent Itajime: digital board clamping’

Across the world the ancient technique of board clamping, as a patterning technique for silk fabric has been constantly invented and reinvented, but over the last few centuries it use has declined to almost extinction. The history and origins of the technique is an enigma as there are examples in Japan that date from the 8th Century but subsequent examples are very scarce until a re-appearance of the technique in Japan in the 19th Century. Today with the advances in laser cutting and CNC woodworking there is scope for its reinvention and a revival. These machines can be employed to replace the woodcarvers’ skill that was once needed for the creation of matching wooded plates, whereas the process of coloration returns back to the hand of the dyer. It is a case of technology meets hand, to create uniquely patterned one-off fabrics. Pairs of precision cut clamping boards made to fit perfectly together unite with the dyeing process creating a randomness that allows variability and creativity within the technique, imparting a uniqueness within the final silk fabrics produced.

Across the world the ancient technique of board clamping, as a patterning technique for silk fabric has been constantly invented and reinvented, but over the last few centuries it use has declined to almost extinction. The history and origins of the technique is an enigma as there are examples in Japan that date from the 8th Century but subsequent examples are very scarce until a re-appearance of the technique in Japan in the 19th Century.

Today with the advances in laser cutting and CNC woodworking there is scope for its reinvention and a revival. These machines can be employed to replace the woodcarvers’ skill that was once needed for the creation of matching wooded plates, whereas the process of coloration returns back to the hand of the dyer. It is a case of technology meets hand, to create uniquely patterned one-off fabrics. Pairs of precision cut clamping boards made to fit perfectly together unite with the dyeing process creating a randomness that allows variability and creativity within the technique, imparting a uniqueness within the final silk fabrics produced.