The Surface Designer's Handbook - Dyeing, Printing, Painting and Creating Resists on Fabric by Holly Brackman, is a fairly technical and academic book about colouring fabrics in many ways, as well as embellishment with foils, embroidery and beads, heaps of recipes, instructions, tips and tricks. Page 56 features this photograph of a scarf made from black rayon yarn with a discharged woven shibori resist and then dyed. Not sure what that means or how one does it, and don't particularly like the colours.......
Why this book? Well a few weeks ago I purchased about 20 Procion and Landscape dyes at a local market, some were unopened jars and others had been used, but they were exceedingly cheap for what I paid. Yesterday I had my very first attempt at dyeing fabrics, both PFD cotton and a couple of bits from an Op shop woollen blanket, plus some threads and these are the results.
I was quite pleased with these, and can understand how people become hooked on dyeing stuff. I love the mottled woollen fabric, and can imagine something stitched in the matching woollen yarn. No doubt with practice one learns the way dyes react with each other, and with careful discipline and record keeping can predict and replicate colours. For me at present it is definitely hit or miss, and I fear today's efforts may be less appealing - the fabric is still soaking and looks a bit sludgy!
5 comments:
I know what you mean by hit and miss--I find dyeing very frustrating but no matter what I can always use coloured fabric somewhere.
What a marvelous book and what beautiful hand dyed things you have created!! Lovely work.
Beautiful - that's the best first attempt at dyeing I've ever seen! It took me several tries (alright, many tries) to get anything as good as that! It is a good idea to keep a notebook to record what worked best, very handy if you only dye things occasionally.
wow, that is amazing, well done! They look fabulous.
Please let us know what the next batch looks like.
oohhh - nice colours. I havent tried dyeing anything yet - it strikes my as one of those big messy jobs you cant be disturbed during - and i never seem to have enough child free time to start it.
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