I was going to call this Fun With Dyeing but thought it might put people off...
...but over the last two days I've been having great fun with my collection of Procion cold-water dyes and the white-on-white fabric I bought at the NEC on Thursday!
My friend from work, Carolyn-Ann, came over yesterday (Saturday) with the fabric she'd bought on Thursday too, and we got to work. I'd already prepared the salt and soda solutions the night before, so it was just a case of deciding what colours to use, and to get the dye mixes ready.
And then the fun started - we almost set up a production line of preparing the plastic bags and writing up labels for them - we were following the guidelines in Helen Deighans "Dyeing in Plastic Bags" book which I've had for a while, but never gotten around to using. Its written in a very friendly and easy way to follow, almost as if Helen is in the room with you. Its also printed on slightly shiny paper which resists drops of dye & water, and likes having the pages turned whilst wearing latex gloves...
We used pure red, pure yellow, midnight blue and jet black dyes, and between us have managed to turn out ranges of blues, purples, greens and oranges, reds and an almost black. The white-on-white fabrics are stunning, some are brighter/whiter than others but the pattern is still very visible. They look so different when they are dyed, than from being white-on-white!
Having spent at least 3 hours in the dye mix, the liquid was then drained and the damp fabric left overnight in their bags to allow the dye to seep further into the grain, and then today I spent practically all the day rinsing each fabric in cold water, hot soapy water, then as many cold water rinses until the water is clear (or until you get bored/knackered/couldn't give a d*mn anymore - whichever is the sooner...) my bathroom sink is completely at the wrong height so I had to sit on a stool whilst doing the rinsing - but I'm still paying for it with aching wrists and forearms where I've leant on the edge of the sink...
I'm now in the process of writing up a dyeing diary (sounds painful!) whist its still fresh in my mind as to what quantities of dye I used to obtain what, and am cutting chunks of fabric to stick in the book as a reminder. With any luck, if I keep going the way I want to (bruises and backache allowing!) I'll have a permanent record of how to obtain any colour again, and can have more fun in the future!
BTW, I intend to use the fabric I've dyed in the sampler quilt I'm about to start, and also in a new project I'm toying with, involving gridded vilene and foundation piecing log cabin squares in my lunch-hour at work...
Suzie B
-- "From the internet connection under the pier" Southend, UK