Monday, February 22, 2010

Cotton shibori experiment


I decided to try what I have learned so far from Glennis Dolce's shibori class on cotton, which is the fabric I usually dye. And I used some procion mx dyes I had mixed up from a previous project. I used 2 pieces of lightweight plywood that are approximately 3" x 7", a metal 'c' clamp, and a spring clamp to ceate the dye resist. I know... should have taken pictures! I promise to do that next time. I used Robin's Egg blue, Orchid, and I think Lilac, to dye the design. The process involves folding a square into a triangle shape, then positioning the resists on the top and bottom parallel to each other, then clamping to form a snug resist. I presoaked the folded piece in soda ash, pressed out the excess solution with my hands, then positioned the resist. I first used the Robin's Egg blue, then pressed out the excess, removed and repositioned the resist boards and clamps, then overdyed with Orchid, then repeated the process for the Lilac. Then I removed the resists and 'batched in a covered container overnight. This morning I rinsed/washed using cold water and a drop of synthrapol for the initial rinse, then washed with hot water and synthrapol. I think I will try colors with more contrast next time to see if I can get a crisper design, but I'm pleased at how this came out. I have not tried repositioning the resists in this way before, and it does add a lot to the overall design. I would like to be able to accomplish this on shirts, but I can see that I will need to use super thin fabric and really think through the process if I want to have it come out well.

6 comments:

Cate Rose said...

Gorgeous, Judy! Thanks for sharing the process with those of us not taking Glennis' class!

Vicki W said...

Beautiful!

Shiborigirl said...

often people just do itajime by clamping once to create a pattern. seemed to me a natural thought to move the clamps and overdye-
opens up many new possibilities doesn't it?

Judy Sall Fiber Art said...

Glennis, you are so right! The added layers of color really make a difference in the design! Thanks for opening my eyes to that!

Chris Daly said...

Beautiful Judy. This would look great on one of your t-shirts.

Rayna said...

This is lovely. The process really gave you some interesting results.