# Katagami stencils

Katagami are paper stencils for dyeing cloth. The Japanese word 型紙 means “pattern paper.” Cutters in Shiroko and Jike in Suzuka, Mie, have made them for more than five hundred years.

## How a stencil is made

- Sheets of washi are bonded with kakishibu. Kakishibu is a fermented persimmon tannin that turns the paper brown and tough.
- A cutter carves the pattern through the layers.
- A fine silk net holds the loose pieces in place.
- Rice paste goes through the holes onto the cloth, the cloth is dyed, and the paste washes out to leave the pattern white.

## Four ways to cut

| Cut | How |
|---|---|
| Kiribori | A semicircular blade turned against the paper punches round holes. A square centimetre holds up to about a hundred of them. |
| Tsukibori | The knife is pushed away from the cutter through every layer at once. This cut makes free lines and curves. |
| Dōgubori | Punches ground to a shape press out the same flower or diamond again and again. |
| Shimabori | Stripes are cut along a ruler, and each stripe is traced three times with a small blade. |

## The type family

The typeface took the name because it is made by cutting. Its curves are squared, its terminals are cut level, and its K is cut from a square. The [About page](https://katagami.kevinliu.studio/about) has the story and a stencil you can cut with your own word.

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Source: https://katagami.kevinliu.studio/learn/katagami-stencils