Dyeing

Went to the most interesting dyeing class yesterday. It was given by a lady who has made a living involved in theatrical costuming at some of the top levels. We learned the difference between multipurpose dyes, fibre-reactive dyes, and acid dyes. I had always thought that the difference was only in the fibre content of the fabric being dyed, but there is also a rationale for being able to control the depth of colour and the speed at which you colour a fabric. After making samples with the different dyes we were allowed to do one piece for a personal project.

While I didn't have a project in mind, on Friday I had tried some snow dyeing that had gone wrong. I had ended up with two pieces of very pastel lavender spotted fabric with big dirty-looking whilte sections. Since I had used a lot of olive green dye, this was a bit of a mystery. so I took it along. During the class we had talked about Shibori techniques, so I tried a very simple accordian fold of the fabric-two ways. I used a multi-pupose olive green, and had to hold the folded fabric in the dye bath with the edge of a spoon, but with the multi-purpose dye, I didn't have to leave it very long. I got a wonderful piece. I was absolutely thrilled, so repeated the process with the second piece with the same results. Each piece is about 1/2m.

I have seen pictures of Shibori-type work but was never impressed with any of it. I am liking the pieces I've done, probably because the colour is more intense and the pattern itself a little more organized. I notice that one of them is a little off-grain but still useable.