The Okinawan Tie-Dye

While Matt was away I had an Okinawan adventure with some of the lovely ladies that live in the tower. Really going anywhere for the first time in Okinawa is an adventure due to my notorious lack of navigation skills. However, the destination was my idea, so with the GPS on my phone I managed to find Shuri Ryusen in Naha. It was an adorable half-timber building with multiple stories. The first floor was a store and the third was a tiny factory with only two professionals, but the second floor was a studio where we could try our hand at coral dying, a process that we renamed Okinawa tie-dye. 

For only 3000 yen you are led upstairs and asked to pick from a selection of fabrics. I chose a scarf, but others chose a t-shirt or a rectangle of fabric to frame. You are then given five colors of dye: red, blue, yellow, purple, black and a sheet reminding you which colors to mix to create other colors. The instructor demonstrated how to wrap your fabric over fossilized coral and use sponges to spread the dye over the fabric on order to transfer the coral pattern. We were given unlimited time and multiple tables filled with coral specimens and stamps to choose from. We spent over an hour perfecting our masterpieces that we were excited to take home and show off. If you are interested, you can check out their website at http://www.shuri-ryusen.com/en/exp.html. 

Sally concentrating on her design. 

You have to use the lightest dye first. 

Touring the tiny factory. 

Professional Okinawa tie-dye. So pretty!

Smiles with our finished products!

Close-up of my scarf at home with my shisa shakers.