For the pillow shams, I dyed some fabric for the back of the shams, just in case. I have enough warp for 2, maybe 3 sets of shams.
I figured having coordinating backing fabric could be a good thing. This technique is a great and easy way to use leftover dye.
I very vaguely followed these instructions from ProChem. Reading back over them, I see that I took huge liberties. I was very tired from painting warps on the floor for 2 days.
The fact that the power was out didn't make my mind any more clear.
I wasn't trying to defy their instructions. I thought I was following them just fine.
Ahead of time, I washed and dried the fabric by machine.
As part of my dye preparations, I washed my yarns and fabric in synthrapol by hand.
On the morning of dyeing, I soaked the fabric in the same soda ash solution that I used for my painted warps.
Then I shoved each yard of fabric into an applesauce jar. I started with one corner and just packed it in.
When I was finished painting warps, I measured 1/3 cup of each of my three colors, red, orange and yellow.
I was low on red and yellow, so I added some extra orange dye to the red, and added extra apricot dye to the yellow. (That might be why my final result came out so orange.)
I just poured the 1/3 cup of each color of dye into the jar, put the lid on it and let it sit in a warm room (70° F or 21°C) overnight with my two warps.
One fabric piece in the destination bedroom
With one cute Brittany
24 hours later, after some room temperature soaks, and one hot synthrapol rinse, I had two vividly colored pieces of fabric.
I wish I'd captured more red and yellow and less orange.
Maybe I would have if I'd had the right amount of dye, and if I'd actually followed the directions.
So these might end up as backs to my pillow shams.
Or linings to tote bags.
Or cut up, this fabric could be placemat weft.
Or I could make a cool blaze orange vest for hunting season.
I definitely recommend this technique. But maybe you should follow ProChem's directions for best results!!
Related posts:
Painted warps drying
Pillow sham warp being painted
Tencel scarf warp being painted
15 comments:
Thanks for the step by step!!! Great project to do when your power is out! LOL!
the colors may not be what you were hoping for but they are very cool - love the results. If you don't use the fabric for the shams it will be great in some other project.
Lovely colors, certainly useful for something if not for the intended project at hand. They remind me of that bright fungus post in the intensity and overall patterning. No matter how I write that it doesn't sound good, but I mean it in a very good way. :-)
I think they are gorgeous!! They would make lovely linings to some tote bags. You wouldn't need too much light to see what is in the bag. :)
Though you've given me an idea with these jars of dye. I wonder how this would work with natural dyes. Put the yarn in with the dye solution and drop the jar into hot water to simmer. I'll bet I could get some cool "space dyed" yarns with natural dyes that way. Hmmm...
They bring me back to the 60's. They would make such a great lining for a bag!
Thanks for the lesson I need to find time to try all of this!
The orange color is pretty and happy! I like the colors in your house too. I haven't had the courage yet to try dying but it does look fun.
LOL! Personally, I think it's the most fun when you do something unusual and get totally surprising results, especially when the results look as good as this one!
I like the way it turned out, love the burst of colors. Really cool looking.
Go for the hunting vest. The colors and blending really do look neat.
The colors are lovely, so bright and warm!
I love these fabrics-great job! Yes, they are orange but they are interesting not flat colors; will you take up quilting next?!
I see I'm not the only one curious about how this would work on yarn. I really liked that it was securely in a jar overnight for some reason. (I had a little dye paranoia going on perhaps!)
I have quilted before, but I'm not in a quilt phase at the moment. Who knows what the future will hold? I will say that if I'd had other fabric prepared at the end of my dye day, I would have dyed it too. So fun!!
I can see the resemblance between that spectacular fungus from last fall and this fabric (in the best possible way).
I get hungry for color in the winter here. The recent warm weather is helping.....but it's not very colorful out yet!
Sue
how beautiful and it looks so simple to do. Might work well with a ball of yarn and very little liquid.
Wow! I love this idea and would never have thought of it in a million years. I have leftover dyes and jars. I just realized that I have dyed for protein. Was your warp cotton?
Your fabrics is so vibrant. I love the idea of dyeing in a confined space like a jar.
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