More Funky dyeing

So... after I did the shirts shown in my last post, I took things a step further. First I dyed some shirts in the same fashion, but then I overdyed in black to create a neon-looking affect. Here is one of the first shirts:

This is a scrunch on top of a scrunch, and I got the beginnings of the look I was trying for. But I was inspired to take it a step further. I scrunch dyed a poncho and a sarong, both fringed rayon... first scrunched with the bright colors I used before. Then, after washing and re-soda soaking, I created a little more of a folded look. On the Poncho, I did a loose swirl, and on the sarong, I did an irregular zigzag accordion fold. Then, after putting them into a plastic bin, I applied the black dye by pouring over them from a measuring cup. Here they are:

Needless to say, I'm hooked... got 4 more in the washer now, and can't wait to see them and start the process all over again! I need to order lots more black dye! It takes 4 times as much black dye powder as the average dye in order to get a deep shade. But I definitely think it's worth it! I've always admired Carter Smith's work, but wanted to be able to get the same kind of dramatic look on cotton that he gets on silk. And I have tried discharge dyeing, where you start with black, create a fold design, apply bleach then overdye with color. I haven't been satisfied with the colors, and I'm concerned about the fabric being damaged by the bleach bath, even if I use a neutralizer afterward. So my current method is the best one I have found so far to achieve that "Glow in the dark" effect. I'll post pix of the next batch soon.

Resist dye experiments

Every once in awhile.... no, that's a LIE! I always want to experiment with dyes, resist methods, patterns... it just calls to me! So yesterday, I got "the call", and decided to revisit a method I first tried a few years ago, resist dyeing using CD's and clamps. I dyed a length of fabric with lemon yellow, light orange and scarlet to start with. Then I accordion folded the fabric, then covered the resulting folded fabric with CD's top and bottom, anchored with spring clamps:

Then I overdyed the exposed fabric with 3 colors, ombre-style: Maroon, Burgundy and Eggplant. After laundering and drying, I cut off a portion to further experiment with, forgetting to take a picture first... I make a really poor scientist! Anyway, here is a picture of the remaining fabric as it came out of the above dyebath:

I think there is enough here for you to see the ombre-effect.

With the two pieces I cut from the original, I refolded to match up the circles, then on the fabric on the left below, I used two rectangle-shaped wood pieces to partially cover the circles, using spring clamps to secure them; then I overdyed the exposed fabric with Royal Blue. On the fabric to the right, I used two oval wood shapes to partially cover the circles, again using spring clamps to secure them. Then I overdyed the exposed fabric with Cerulean Blue:

If you click on the images, you will see some of the blues have overdyed lighter areas to create some focal points. What I am amazed at is that the original circles were really transformed into different shapes! I was expecting some color layering but thought I would see the outline of the circles a little clearer, and maybe if I had overdyed with lighter dyes I would have. But I love the shapes that I get when I use this method to resist-dye. Now I need to get busy and use some of this fabric!

Overdyed printed fabric

Last week, our Quilters' Guild had a supply sale and live auction to raise funds for the guild. For $10.00, we got a grocery bag and got to fill it with whatever would fit in it... not bad! The first thing that caught my eye was a 4 yard piece of cotton with a design printed on it in black. My first thought was: "wow! I could dye that!". And so I stuffed it into my bag, and yesterday decided to test a fat quarter to see how it would look. Here is the 'before/after' shot:

Needless to say, I plan to make something really yummy out of this fabric! Just wish I could get my hands on more, but there is no maker label on the selvedge, so I'm going to have to be satisfied with what I got. On the other hand, I could do some screens and make my own for future projects... Yeah!

Autumn Leaves

I have always loved the colors of autumn. Recently I did an experiment using dyes I had in my dye refridgerator for almost a year. I used golden yellow and light orange and a little scarlet and dyed 3 shirts using low water immersion technique, just to see how the dyes would react after all this time. The result was better than I had expected: The yellow and orange had not lost any of their strength, and while the scarlet turned out lighter than I had hoped, it still looked okay. I decided to use soy wax to create some autumn leaves, then overdye with browns for a fall foliage motif. Here are the results:

I'm soooo jazzed with the results, that now I need to do bunches more!