Dyeing and a Sneak Peek

It had been a few weeks since I dyed some fabric, and I was missing seeing it hang on my clothesline.   This is what I did, the one on the right is an overdyed piece of cotton.

This is a sneak peek of an art quilt I am working on.   I am using markers to colour it and the piece is about 35" square.  It is taking a  long time to do, but I can bring it anywhere and it is fun planning what colours go where.

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Dyeing Fabric

Warm weather means dyeing fabric.   I love to dye my fabric for my quilts.   It is so much fun experimenting with colours, techniques and fabrics.  

In order for me to enjoy the process, I don't keep any notes.   I realize that I most likely will be unable to create an exact colour.   I also know if I had to stop and write down measurements, cut samples and maintain some type of ledger, it would exhaust the fun right out of it.

Each time is a new adventure for me, and I love that.   These pieces are done by adding colour at each end of the dye bath container and seeing how they interact or meet in the middle.   The blue/pink is the last of my PFD cotton (desparately waiting for next shipment) and the yellow/red was an old pale yellow tablecloth that I dyed.  

I am going to do some more using this process, but I also have ordered some fun Setacolor paints  that use the sun to show shapes placed on them during the dye process.  

Next up, my studio.  I have had several requests to show you that, so stay tuned.

Over Dyeing

Here are the pictures of my fabric dyeing. The top one was dyed first in a hot pink bath and then scrunched and tied with wraps and put into a purple bath.

The second picture is of a bright blue dye job and then overdyed in a dark blue, with fabric manipulation as well. This is only a section of both pieces. They are actually about 70" x 70" with a lot of variety in the mottling.

When I put the 2 pieces side by side, they look like they match. I was originally thinking of just using one piece as a background and cutting it up, but now may use both for an art quilt.

I am still debating whether to discharge dye one or both as well.

As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.

Dyed Dresses

I had two little girls over yesterday. One had a cute bright pink dress on it with a large blue stain in the front. Her mother commented that she would not be able to wear it to school in the fall. So I offered to dye it for her. Upon hearing this the other little girl, who was wearing a gorgeous yellow dress, asked if hers could be dyed as well. The mother grudgingly consented and here are the results.

I chose a purple dye bath, as I knew I needed something dark to cover up the stain on the pink dress, yet wanted to have a nice contrast with the yellow dress too. I used elastics on both and scrunched them into a wide mouth vase to achieve the marbling effect. I am pleased with both and hope the little girls will be too.

Shibori and Beyond

First let me welcome Angela as a new Follower. Great to have you join us!

I have been doing a bit of dyeing fabric in this great weather. It is fun, as they dry so fast outside, so you don't have long to wait to see the results.

One is an arashi shibori technique that I came across. This was my second attempt at this one. It consists of wrapping fabric around a pipe and scrunching it down. The first time I think I had too much fabric on my pipe and I used dye paint and it didn't penetrate all the way through.

This time, I still used a bit too much fabric on the pipe but soaked it in a dye bath and that worked better. I also threw in a piece of fabric all scrunched up at the bottom of the bath and it turned out terrific. I always have trouble getting the right colour to show up on the camera, but trust me when I say it is an intense hue.