In the past, I have done a lot of pour dyeing–a technique I picked up from Robbi Joy Eklow. You hang the fabric (I presoak in soda ash solution) from a clothesline, either outdoors or indoors, and pour away. The colors run and mix as they will, and the results are uncontrolled and spontaneous. I like them.
But in my present house and yard, I don’t really have a good place to do that. It’s a very messy process, and I tend to be kind of sloppy. Plus there’s the grass I killed at the old house when I used vinegar as a fixative on silk scarves…
A couple of years ago when I started snow dyeing, I grabbed an extra under-the-bed plastic storage box and used that to lay the fabrics out in…and got similar results to the pouring process.
So I’ve been doing the same thing with non-snow dyeing. Here’s the process I use:
© 2010 BJ Parady
I’m filling this bucket with hot water. Next I add the proper amount of soda ash, stir to dissolve, and then soak the fabrics in them.
© 2010 BJ Parady
Here are various fabrics laid out in the tub–some tea towels, a couple of white cotton shirts I bought on clearance, some silk scarves to sell at Artworks (Keokuk, IA), and some pieces of cheesecloth. The fabrics are scrunched or roughly pleated, anything to get some variance in the dye.
Side thought: When I first started hand dyeing years ago, I was obsessed with getting even, non-mottled fabrics. Why was that?
Then I start pouring dye. Usually analogous colors, but sometimes as here I was going for browns, so I used a khaki mixed dye from Dharma, some golden yellow that I’m trying to get rid of (lemon yellow is much clearer), and some eggplant. I mix one at a time in a 2 cup measuring cup, pour out half kind of randomly. Then I dilute back up to 2 cups, and pour more. Repeat with all colors–I have found that more than 3 colors gets to be too much. I do squish down fabrics as needed (with gloved hands–fiber reactive dyes also react with the proteins in your skin) so that no white is showing.
© 2010 BJ Parady
And now they sit, and I wait. I did put the lid on the tub, that may or may not be necessary. But I’ll let them sit on top of my washer until sometime tomorrow when I’ll wash them out and see what I’ve got. It could be anything.
But whatever it is, I’ll use. The randomness will inspire art.
