Module 1, Chapter 6

Since doing a number of courses over the years, I have developed quite an interest in fabric dyeing and have a large stock of fabrics which I have hand-dyed. I therefore decided to look through my stash and identify a selection of fabrics which are approximately in line with the colour scheme developed in previous chapters.

Looking initially at the ochre/gold range of colours, I chose the following:

On the blue grey side, I chose the following:

I am not naturally a methodical person and have not recorded precise dye recipes, although I do keep a book with painted colour swatches of some of the Procion MX dyes I use, together with a similar record for many of the other art materials in my collection, such as Brusho, Inktense, Kohinoor, acrylic paints etc.

I realise that this is probably not best practice for a prescribed course, but for my own purposes of creativity for enjoyment and pleasure it works fine. I especially enjoy the serendipity of experimenting with adding random dyes, albeit chosen with regard to the colour wheel so as not to produce too much "mud" - although even mud can be beautiful!

Most of the fabrics shown above were made using Procion MX dyes. I usually soak the fabric first in soda ash solution, then place it loosely scrunched up in a resealable plastic bag and add my chosen dye solution(s). After squeezing the bag gently a few times, I often add another piece of fabric on top and squeeze gently again. Sometimes I use a pipette to apply colour to a specific area. I prefer not to use too much liquid as I find the colours can then become too uniform.

A few of the fabrics chosen from my stash were coloured using Omega Dyrect microwave dyes. I have had great success with these, especially when combining colours. Indeed the Level 3 Certificate piece used as the background for this blog was made entirely with fabrics dyed in this way. I have heard some people suggest that they are not as light fast as Procion-dyed fabrics but the cushion in the picture has been kept in a sunny room for several years now and is still as bright and vibrant.