Shibori Shiraz

My outdoor dye place - I love my sink!

Yes, its been a while and I'm not even going to say why....

But I'm back at it and working at getting my creative mojo happening. This summer was spent dyeing amongst other tasks and I did a LOT of ice dyes, they are gorgeous! I'll do another post sometime and show you the best ones...but I also delved back into Shibori in a small way. 

Since moving to our small island my dye studio is outdoors and really just happens in the summer but last year I made some Shibori that worked very well as water on a quilt and I knew I needed more. So this is a little tutorial to show my version and it involves wine....

1. Buy wine that has a uniform diameter bottle, no bulbous or fancy shape - buy the cheap stuff with a screw top and drink it all!
2. Gather your wine bottles - fill them with water - and the same number of juice jugs, not one or two but at least three bottles and three jugs.

Measure the circumference of the bottle and add 1 1/2". Tear a strip, full width from selvedge to selvedge (no cutting, just tear) that measurement. Sew the fabric into a tube with a scant 1/2" seam allowance.

Pull the fabric tube onto the wine bottle, working from the neck down is generally easier. Place an elastic band at the bottom ( I like the thicker elastics from broccoli), push the tube down as far as you can and secure with another elastic at the bottom.

Mix up a soda solution in a bucket: 1/2 cup soda solution + 1 gallon of warm water, stir well. 

Place each bottle into a juice jug and pour the soda solution into the jug to the top of the fabric and let soak for 20 minutes.

Wearing a particle mask, mix 1 teaspoon of dye powder into 1/2 cup of water and stir well, some powder may float to the top so take a couple minutes to stir well.

I like to vary the intensity of the colour between each jug so I'll put a little bit, 2 tbsp. or so in the first jug, a bit more in the second and then finally the remainder in the last jug. Plunge each bottle gently up and down to get the dye mixed in the jug.

Let the bottles soak in the dye solutions for 2-3 hours then remove and rinse well.

Now comes the fun... there are endless colour and value combinations but I'll walk you through how I can get so much variety in a simple way:

• make 2-3 batches of the dyed tubes, each a different colour - say red, green or blue
• then take one red tube and two blue/green tubes (different values) and put them into a batch of yellow
• from those three put them into a bronze or purple batch
• there's no need to wash the tubes in between dye batches, just rinse, hang to dry and start again with a soda soak for 20 minutes and new dye colour in the solution
• I repeat those steps over and over with different colour combination. Usually I only do three colours on one fabric, sometimes I'll stop at two if I really like them
• one of my favourite is to dye with"indigo" from dharma Trading - it looks like the real thing but is a fibre reactive dye!

Once I have a batch of these tubes I unpick the stitching and I wash them all in the machine on a hot setting with a bit of Synthrapol detergent.

They really do glow beautifully once Ive ironed them ...

Colour Blocking Online Workshop

I'm gradually moving my wide selection of online workshops to an "on demand" setting. Why? I'm finding that students want to access workshops when they see them, rather than waiting for a set date. Plus, I'm on the road a bit more these days and find a different selling platform to be helpful.

So, I've just finished setting up Colour Blocking within my Etsy Shop, meaning that you can get immediate access to the workshop as a downloadable lesson.
In Colour Blocking you will get a thorough PDF with hints, tips and dye recipes and a separate supply list with sources for buying dyes and chemicals.
There's a 40 minute video that you can watch at your convenience, plus you can download and keep the video for as long as you like...my workshops NEVER close!

You might be wondering what Colour Blocking is....? It's a term I use to describe the process of screen printing with thickened dyes rather than the more common textile paints.

Why thickened dyes....these dyes do not change the hand of the fabric, allowing the fabric to remain soft and supple despite repeated applications, plus thickened dyes are transparent, so layers of dye will change intensity, value and colours, giving you a wide range of possible uses for their created cloth.
The colours can mix within the screen during applications and you can also paint over the screened images so additional colours and values can be achieved.
It's also possible to mask out areas of the screen (I use soy wax) and create amazing secondary or layered imagery.

Circles painted on screen with soy wax

You can also layer fabrics, sheer organza on top and cotton or linen underneath and get fabulous depth of colours. Or mask out sections of the fabric with freezer paper.....

 

In the workshop you are welcome to ask questions and I'm only a mouse-click away!

 

Masking with soy wax plus mixing colours in the screen

All of this  - plus enter the code: BLOGPROMO for 10% off the workshop....

Here's the link, I hope to see you in the workshop: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/676048561/colour-blocking-online-workshop-printing?ref=shop_home_feat_4

Colour Play - Dye, Dye, Dye

I've been filming an exciting workshop that has been developed especially for quilters, stitchers, mixed media artists and everyone in between. You will learn basic colour mixing theory using Procion MX dyes. Then make simple colour gradations, colour to colour runs and develop a range of fabrics and threads using a planned palette showing value, tints and shades. You will learn how to prepare threads for dyeing by skeining and tying to keep them from tangling, what fabrics to use for dyeing and easy ways to rinse and wash your fabrics. Dye recipes and excellent written step by step instructions will be provided and there will be a focus on safe studio habits.
You will have an opportunity to ask me questions at anytime and you may choose to download the video for viewing at your convenience.
Join me for a fun filled, colourful workshop that shows you how to create gorgeous hand dyed  threads and sumptuous fabrics!
Registration is open now, so sign up for a special price of only $15!!!

Register HERE: http://susanpm.com/online-workshops/

Thread Play and more.....

After some trial and error in learning to skein my threads properly, they are ready and waiting for you on my website: http://fabricimagery.com/category/threads-and-beads/

I discovered dyeing and organizing the threads to be highly addictive, so rest assured there will be lots more to come!
You'll want more than one or two of these lovelies:

Colour Play!

Last week I ordered a 25 metre bolt of white PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric. I used it all up in less than a week! Its been a dyeing frenzy around here, with colour, dye, rinsing and washing happening at all hours of the day and night. Actually I had a great system of dyeing a batch first thing in the morning and rinsing it in the afternoon and then dyeing more and having it ready to rinse in the morning before beginning the dye process all over again.
I was concentrating on half metre pieces and doing colour gradations as well as some planned colour movements. I'll be taking all these with me when I'm lecturing this month for my own Victoria Quilters Guild and next month for the Boundary Bay Quilters Guild.
What do you think of these beauties?

I added threads to some of the fabrics in my colour gradations and made up these totally awesome packs that I've added to my store. So you can order them here: http://fabricimagery.com/category/colour-play/
I've got five colourways right now but will be adding more as I create them. Each pack contains four 11" x 18" fat eights and four 10 yard skeins of perle cotton, all packed up just for you! You can't stop at just one!

Dye Another Day!

How often you you get inspired with a new dye colour or idea and want to rush to the pots eager to try it out? Then discover you have to make up the soda solution and dye concentrate before starting? Maybe you only have 30 minutes and would love to try creating a new rich, soft brown with tints of red?

Why not make up the solutions and have them ready for when the inspiration strikes?

I have dye concentrates made up in 12 ounce squeeze bottles in two sets of primaries, plus a few extra colours and store them in my dye room. The room is cool all year round, but if your space gets warm, then invest in a small bar fridge.

I generally buy my dyes twice a year and make fresh concentrates every 3-4 weeks, more often if I'm having a particular colour splurge!

I buy my dyes from www.dharmatrading.com, they ship quickly and I like their service.

The colours I have are:

Cool Primaries                      Warm Primaries

Fuchsia                                    Scarlet

Lemon Yellow                        Golden Yellow

Turquoise                                Royal Blue

And I add in Bronze, Purple, Black (sometimes 2 or 3 different ones)' Avocado, Moss Green and Eggplant. I often will try a new colour and see if I'd like to add it to my palette, but generally am happy with this selection.

Here's the dye concentrate recipe I use:

Dye Concentrate:

            1 cup Chemical Water

            1 Tablespoon Procion MX Fiber Reactive dye powder

            Stir dye powder into Chemical Water until dissolved

            * I generally double the amount of black for intensity

Chemical Water: Urea is a wetting agent that keeps the dye solution from drying too quickly. This is important when laying the fabric flat to batch. Use this recipe for making the Dye Concentrate and Print Paste. The solution will keep indefinitely.

            4 cups lukewarm water

            9 Tablespoons Urea Granules

            Stir Granules into the water until dissolved.

I measure fairly accurately, but I know to get repeatable results it would be best to weigh my powders. I make little funnels from strips of paper to fit into the neck of the bottles, plastic funnels would work but I'd need one for each colour if I'm making multiple colours.

I make the soda ash solution in jugs or plastic bottles so that its ready to pour into cups with the dye concentrate:

Soda Solution:

            2 quarts lukewarm water

            4 Tablespoons soda ash

            Stir powder into water  until dissolved, soda ash will often take a little while to  dissolve thoroughly.

 Safety First!

·         Always wear a mask when working with dye powders.

·         Do not drink or eat in the dye area.

·         Reserve all equipment to use only with dyes and paints.

·         Label all dyes and chemicals clearly.

·         Work in a well ventilated area

How do you like to mix your dyes?