Shikake (Sumiuchi), Nishijin-gasuri

Nishijin-ori is a characteristic Japanese woven fabric, made in Kyoto. There are 12 different types: this one, using pre-dyed yarns, is called “Nishijin-gasuri” (that is, kasuri from the Nishijin area). The fabric is woven by interlacing warp and weft threads. When parts of the warp re hand-tied to shield it from the dye, and then rearranged and moved slightly, the resulting pattern is Nishijin-gasuri.
It is handmade by skilled weavers known as kasuri-kakōshi. In general, the deigns in Nishijin-gasuri are made with the warp. In order to recreate a particular design into the fabric, the warp threads must be adequately processed.
The sections of yarn to be dyed have to be marked: first, a bundle of threads is pulled taut over a square frame called a owaku (this step is called wakuhari).
Marking are made to sections of the threads spun over the owaku frame to indicate which sections will be dyed and which will not.