Sunday, July 7, 2019

Fabric Dyeing & Silk Scarves

Our Fyber Café art group had a dyeing work shop at Tracy's in June. It was the least hot of our options, as it was going to be over 100' in Grants Pass. We had a wonderful friendship salad, everyone brings something to add to the greens. I worked on mostly shibori dyeing, wrapping cotton yarn around fabric on PVC pipe, then scrunching it together. I used two colors of dye on each, but I think the cotton yarn soaked up too much dye and did not act as a resist enough. The patterning is subtle.
I had previously done a bunch of fabric with indigo Procion MX dye, so wanted to use other colors. The greens are lime squeeze and bright green with some warm black.
Magenta and bright purple made a vibrant color combo, the pattern is wonderful. The magenta and indigo is more sundued.
I also dyed several silk scarves, we use the MX dyes just like the cotton. I scrunched them up and ice dyed them. Two of the scarves are devore rayon/silk patterned scarves. The pink/purple was done with MX dyes. The blue/green dyed scarf was done at a class, where we used silk dyes, I believe they are called "Alter Ego." You add two different types of dye to the same dye bath. One dyes rayon, the other chemicals dye the silk. It is boiled in canning jars on the stove. When you remove the scarf from the dye bath it is TWO DIFFERENT colors, MAGIC! Most of the other group members made ice dyed fabric, we like the technique a lot. You don't have to mix up all the dye solutions, just use the dry dye powder. It is very easy, and you have no control of the outcome, you have to let go and accept what ever happens. I am linking this to Nina Marie's "Off the Wall Friday" click here see what other talented textile artists are doing this week.