Sunday, July 6, 2014

Experimenting with Procion MX dyes

I have wanted to try this little experiment for a long time and finally spent a bit of time the other day doing some stitching and dyeing.  First of all I took several different fabrics (cotton sateen, silk noil, silk organza, cotton broadcloth and harem cloth) and pieced them together in no particular order or size.  I then took a variety of yarns (cotton, silk, bamboo and combinations thereof) and stitched over the seam lines.  Finally, I cut the fabric up into four separate pieces and prepared my dyes.



(Oh darn, now I've managed to get the text into a 'centered' format.  sorry about that)  Anyway, I dyed the four pieces in two separate dye baths.  The first two pieces were put into the dyes as usual,  in two separate containers,  with soda ash solution added after about 10 minutes.  I then waited another 10 minutes and put the two next pieces into their respective dye containers, waited about 10 minutes and added more soda ash solution.  No extra dye for the second addition, just the soda ash.  I'm pleased with the coloration that I got and it was quite fascinating to see the way the different fabrics and yarns took the dyes. 


This last pic is the finished piece, that I call 'To See the World." 

I'm experimenting more with printing onto fabrics using fabric paints and developing those ideas.  And I'm getting back to my on-line course with the Kemshalls./  Lots to do.   I'll be back.....

8 comments:

  1. Wonderful!! Delicious colours! :)

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    1. Thanks Jo. Are you home yet??? We must get together!!!

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  2. I really love this idea with the stitched variety of fabrics and threads. Such pleasing colours and you've put them all together into a piece I hope to see in person!

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    1. Thanks, Yvonne. I'll bring it along next time we get together! Soon I hope!

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  3. I love what you have done ... such vibrant colours that attract the eye ! The finished piece is very exciting. Looking forward to seeing what you produce with your on-line course !

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    1. Thanks, Sharron. I'm loving learning about mixing colours and the dyeing process. But I am somewhat distracted by it all and not really progressing on the on-line course. Tomorrow.....

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  4. This is beautiful ... the vibrancy of the colours and the contrast in the stitch is fascinating.

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    1. Thanks Margaret. And I have some lovely off-cuts that I can use in another piece!!

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