A spread of candy-like colour
If I said that dyeing fabric is easy and straighforward I'd probably be lying! If I claimed to have this dyeing obssession completely nailed I'd probably have my fingers crossed behind my back. How do people do this for a living? Do they age prematurely? There seems to be so many variables and so much unpredictability I mean what's a girl supposed to do?
I was using Procion dyes with a medium weave calico. It was PFD - (prepared for dyeing just in case you haven't encountered that term before) but I washed it anyway. I ironed it and I don't do that without there being a real need. Strangely, (I'd ironed it for goodness sake!) I twisted, folded and scrunched the squares because I wanted a little bit of patterning across the fabric.
It's such an exciting process all that anticipation.......
Red, yellow and blue dye baths(?) were straightforward because I was just using the neat colours. and I love the results. The yellow is lemon yellow.
It's not a colour I like very much and you can't see much patterning across the fabric but I wanted a yellow and this is it.
The blue and magenta red also worked well enough.
Magenta
Blue
... and look at these gorgeous threads!
One is a braided linen and the flatter looking yarn is a woven cotton.
I'm now thinking about getting myself a couching foot for my sewing machine just so that I can use them ......well pretty threads anyway! Advice is welcome.
Mixing...... oh boy! I was dyeing in plastic bags so I didn't add the cloth to the bag until I mixed the colour I wanted (Does that sound as if I'm in control ?) I tested the colour on kitchen towel and all looked good. This is the orange ......
This is a fine boucle linen yarn and the orange is just slightly darker on the 'lumpy' bits.
... and the orange threads. Pleased with these.
Here's my experiment with purple........
What do you think - more sort of raspberry coloured isn't it. Try number two. I think I'd call this purple
.... and look at these lovely marks. It's almost marbled with colour.
It was between the red, the raspberry and the purple that I suddently twigged that I needed to keep some notes because my little brain couldn't remember exactly what I'd put in the orignal mess mix (that was a bit Freudian!) after 24 hours had passed by.
With renewed scientific vigour I moved onto green surely this is just blue + yellow? Well... yes of course it is but just look at this!!!!
You can't even tell it has any colour unless you put it next to something very pale such as white. It's hard to believe there was any dye in the bag at all.
But look at this thread .... just look at it.
It's lovely. It's a twisted linen thread and it's taken on a beautifully delicate variegation. (See there was dye in that bag! How could you doubt me!)
Green number two - I resorted to tearing up old sheets (retired cot sheets - so hardly used) at this point. But the disppointment..... what colour would you call that apart from horrible?
It has a strange blue tinge and almost blobs of yellow on it - whatever went wrong? There's no way that it's green. Back to the drawing board.
Green was definately giving me the 'evilies' as my son would say. Green and I have definately had a bit of a row. We may never speak again. That won't work though I NEED green to get this activity done. Think.........
Next attempt...... smaller bag (from the Co-op this time. The Waitrose ones kept leaking. That's it I'll blame them for my lack of success.)
Same fabric, same basic chemicals, slightly adjusted colour mix, tiny drop of washing up liquid and a teaspoon of Calgon (We have very hard water here and I thought the washing up liquid might make the mixture actually mix. It bubbled interestingly anyway.). Tested it with the kitchen roll and it looked like a gorgeous emerald green the kind of green a leprechaun would be proud of and feel at home with.
And look......
It's not emerald green but it's pretty, sort of forest green in the early part of the year. (Increasing poetic descriptions = relief )
Now for a bit of space dyeing.....
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