Dyeing some silk

With today’s post I hope to illustrate a little something about color and fabric dyeing.  I’ve been playing around with fabric dyes this week in preparation for dyeing a large piece of fabric as the backing of a banner for my church (which I will share in a future post).  Whenever I have some dye left over, especially if it is in the green color family, I like to dye some silk pieces to use for the leaves in some of my flower creations.  The following two pictures illustrate the fact that dyeing silk fabrics with fiber reactive dyes can yield some pretty surprising and unpredictable results.

In this picture all of the fabrics were dyed with the same two dyes, one blue and one yellow, mixed at varying proportions.  All of the silk fabrics were dyed in the same container at the same time.  I was especially surprised to see how different the chiffon turned out.  The velvet, which I’ve labeled as silk, is actually a silk ground with a rayon pile.  You can see the selvedge edge of the fabric where the silk is exposed – it is almost the same color as the chiffon.  The rayon pile soaked up the rich color from the dye (fiber reactive dyes were developed, after all, to dye cotton and rayon).  The cottons were dyed with a more dilute solution of the same dye in a separate container. 

The dye mixture I started with looked much more blue than the silk fabrics turned out.  Silk fibers are notorious for unpredictable results, especially with blue dyes.  When you mix blue with another primary color to make a secondary color, my experience tells me that the resulting color of the silk will be a secondary color leaning more toward the primary other than blue.  For instance, if you mix red and blue to make purple, you will end up with a more reddish-purple, the silk responding more to the red than to the blue.  The same was true for this green (a more yellowish-green was achieved).

These next fabrics were dyed with a mixture of the same yellow from above but a different blue.  I used far less yellow this time, resulting in a more blue-toned green.  Again, all of the silks were dyed together in the same bag and the cottons were dyed with two different dilute versions of the same dye in their own containers.

I like experimenting with dyes and fabrics to see the results.  Luckily, the projects I use these fabrics in do not require a reproducible color or even very predictable results (after all, nature is full of variation).  But taking the time to learn about how different fibers react to the different dyes helps me know where to start.  I encourage you to try it yourself.

More About Dyeing Fabrics and Winner

And the winner is Donna Gotlib.  I found Donna’s blog during One World, One Heart and left a comment for her.  In turn, she checked out my blog and left a comment for me.  That comment earned her my hand dyed fabric bundle (thanks to Random.org which picked #5).  Donna creates wonderful art designs; I fell in love with her wedding stationery called Neva and Howard.  Just look at those bridesmaid designs!  I love those.   She has lots of other lovely things at her webstore Got Donna.

I’ve been thinking a lot about dyeing fabric recently and am itching to do some more myself.  I’ve got a pretty good set up at present with all of my dyes and supplies in one spot and a handy bathroom sink nearby.  But I’ve also been thinking about those of you who have an interest in dyeing but just don’t know where to start.  So here’s my list of supplies you need to get started.  Many of these things you can buy at your local big box or dollar store, and all of the actual dyeing supplies you can get from Dharma Trading Company who is offering 50% off shipping until the end of February.  I’ve added a link to the supplies below that are available from Dharma.  Click on the word and it will take you to the item on their website.

These supplies are for dyeing 100% cotton fabric.  Dharma sells a number of different types, or you can pick some up at your local fabric store.  I like Country Classic Solids from JoAnn Fabrics.  It’s inexpensive and takes the dye well.  Any 100% cotton fabric will work.  Make sure you prewash it first.

• Fabric
• Mask/goggles (for mixing)
• Rubber gloves
• Misc. measuring devices -- buy a set of plastic measuring spoons and cups
• Plastic containers (cups, bowls, etc.)
• Zip lock plastic bags
• Plastic spoons
• Paper towels
• Newspaper or plastic dropcloth
• Sharpie marking pen for marking fabric and record keeping
• Synthrapol (or other soap)
• Soda Ash (1 or 5 lb); you will use 1 cup/gallon water
• Dharma brand fiber reactive dye in the following colors (2 oz. each):

o   PR1 : LEMON YELLOW (MX-8G)

o   PR13 : FUCHSIA RED (MX-8B)

o   PR26 : SKY BLUE (MX-R)

These dye colors will mix together to create the colors you see here.  I used the directions in Dyeing to Quilt by Joyce Mori and Cynthia Myerberg though I use less water than they call for to give a more mottled look to my fabric.  The book contains the “recipes” you need to create a color wheel of 12 fabrics.  I would recommend starting with fat quarters or half yard pieces for your first attempt.  Feel free to email me privately if you want more information on the process.  Good luck, and send me some pictures of your beautiful fabrics when you are through.

Fabric Dyeing and a Giveaway!

I spent the morning at my monthly ASG meeting, where I presented the program for the day on fabric dyeing.  I’ve been experimenting with this craft for a number of years now and always find it a rewarding, if not always predictable, art form.  Here are a few of the points I made at today’s meeting:

• What I have learned about dyeing fabric is that it is not an exact science – you can use a number of methods and the results are similar.  Do not get too hung up on getting everything precise.  Instead, experiment, develop your own methods and style and keep good records. 
• I buy all of my dyes (and other dyeing supplies) from Dharma Trading Company.  They have excellent prices, great service and will provide help when needed.  Their catalog and website are full of instructions.
• Koolaid is a fun and safe way to dye wool and silk.  knitty has a great tutorial with complete instructions for stovetop or microwave method along with a sample of the different colors of koolaid.    Another great chart of colors can be found here.  You will know when the dyeing process is finished because all of the color from the koolaid will be taken up by the fiber and the remaining water will be crystal clear.
• I-Dye by Jacquard is a relatively new dye that comes in premeasured, dissolvable packets which you toss into the washing machine.   There are two types available:  one for natural fibers (cotton, wool, silk, linen, rayon); other for synthetics (poly and nylon).  The main thing I learned from experimenting with this dye is not to open the washer while it is running.  I now have a shirt spontaneously dyed the same color as the dye I was using.
• When mixing dye powder into liquid form, always add the liquid to the powder and not the powder to the liquid.
• For those concerned with the toxicity of dyes, two new companies have come on the market with dyes produced without toxic mordents.  Greener Shades has come out with an acid dye, available in 9 colors, to dye silk, wool and nylon.  The colors are set by a soak in a vinegar bath followed by ironing with a hot iron.  The other product, ColorHue, is hard to track down.  After an extensive internet search (and lots of broken links) I finally found the product at Ginny Eckley’s site, Art Threads.  Information about the dyes are also not readily available but the literature claims that this is a highly concentrated cold water dye for use on silk, linen, wool and rayon.  They are no-rinse, instant-set dyes, available in ten colors.  Nothing else is required except water.
• Fiber reactive dyes are still my favorite.   I have had great luck dyeing cotton fabrics and recently have been experimenting with dyeing silks.  The silk results are rich and beautiful but can be unexpected and unpredictable; that is OK for the applications I am using them for.  Also, I can’t speak to the colorfastness on the silk as I am using them mostly for leaves and other floral bits in some of the handmade flowers I make (hence, no washing).

To celebrate hand dyed fabrics and share a bit of the love I am giving away a set of 12 pieces of hand dyed 100% cotton fabric, 4” x 6” in size (pictured above), just right for small crafting projects, like fabric postcards and artist trading cards or scrapbooking.  All 12 of these colors were dyed using only three primary colors.  Here is a fantastic site where you can find information on mixing dozens of colors from only a few basic dye powders.  Wow. 

Leave a comment on this post before Monday morning (February 21^st, 6 a.m. EST) and I will select one name as the winner.

Now go get your hands dirty.