I decided to do a little experiment the other day.
First I wanted to show you how I made those circles with a tin I found in a $1 bin at Target. I just had to add this after I received a comment from Jaime. We rarely eat anything or buy anything from a can so I had to purchase it. Several years ago when we were still buying canned goods I made a craft organizer from them.Â
If you’re not familiar with soy wax batik, check out this post with my You Tube video.
And this is how it looks when it’s done.
Now was when the fun started. I started with the same three fiber reactive dyes: Forest Green, Raspberry, and Lemon Yellow.
The first piece I ice dyed. The colors came out muted and kind of dreamy!
I really liked that, but wanted to see how painting with thickened dyes would look. If you’re not familiar with how to thickened dyes, I used the directions from Jane Dunnewold’s Art Cloth.
Here is my result. I tried to paint it so I could really compare it to the ice dyed piece. The thickened dyes were darker and didn’t blend as well as when ice dyed. Using less dye would have made them closer in color, but they still are pretty.
Then I did another piece with the same thickened dyes but a little different design.
So what did I learn? With ice dyeing the results are less predictable than painting with thickened dyes. However, you get a dreamy – can’t seem to get that word out of my mind this morning – feel. I liked both ways of dyeing after the soy wax was added to the fabric and will definitely do both again.
Now that I have these three lovely pieces I need to make something with them. Any suggestions? As always, thanks for dropping by.
Linda
These are really interesting and like you I really like the “dreamy” one.
One way you might have been able to get a similar effect to the ice dyeing is to paint without thickening the dyes and work with a wet fabric. A bit like water colour painting.
Sorry can’t offer any suggestion about what to do with them. Maybe something wearable.
Well they are all pretty Lynda. I do like the dreamy look you get with the ice dyes – that melded together blending of colors to form new shades… but I really like the intensity of the colors with the thickened dyes. I wonder if you could get more intense coloring with the ice dyes?
As far as project go, wow you could do so much with these colorful cloths! The first thing that came to mind for me was I would trim out a pair of capris with them. Cut strips for around the pant leg and maybe cover the pockets with the bright fabric. Or how about cutting simple designs out of them and use them as appliqué on jeans or a jean jacket? How cute that would be. So many things…
I have to ask, why didn’t you just recycle a tin can instead of buying that can from Target?
Jaime Haney recently posted..Studio Gardens late spring 2015 tour
Jaime, Thanks. It’s really hard to control color on ice dyeing. You can add more dye but that doesn’t always solve the problem. You can also use less ice.
Great ideas about using the fabric. I like the idea of embellishing stuff that I have in my closet. And the reason I had to buy a can is because we have no cans around here. We rarely eat anything from a can! We used to and I made a craft organizer with them in the past but now we don’t buy any. I could have stole some from the recycling place though if I would have thought of it. Thanks for stopping by.
Yvonne, Great idea of wetting the fabric! Of course we have to be careful because I don’t want to melt the soy wax, but that would probably work well. I’ll try that. Thanks for the idea and for stopping by.
lFirst I found your experiment with dye and soy wax very interesting. I would think it is like what the Indonesians do with their batiks.
I have done some sun dying on fabric and have enjoyed that. I like to use that kind of thing for my Thread Painting. I also do flower Pounding the dye from the leaves and flowers then I etch with thread.
If you would like to check out my work I have a page on FB.
Etched in Thread by Ally.
Ally, Thanks for dropping by. I’ve also done the flower pounding – in fact I’ve been thinking about doing it lately since it’s been so long. I’m on my way to your FB page. Thanks again for dropping by and commenting.
Ice dying seems softer. I have collected berry containers and various bags and whatever’s with holes in them to use for the ice dying so easy for water to runout when melts.
Lovely piece.
Ruby, Great idea to use those bags and containers! Thanks for dropping by.
Maggi, Thanks.
Love these, Lynda! I often use just regular, unthickened dyes on fabric that was pre-soaked with soda ash and dried before I applied the wax. The colors come out well, and they do blend well. As for using the fabric, you didn’t say how much you have in each piece, but I’ll bet a pillow cover or covered journal would work nicely…
as for cans , I do buy canned goods, so now I have something else to try!
Hi Judy, This time I used unsoaked fabric and added the soda ash to the thickened dyes. Of course, they have a time limit before they used up but this was a small project. They did blend a little but not as much as I would have liked them. I’ve only really worked with thickened dyes a couple of times so definitely need more experience. A pillow cover would be great as would a journal cover. Thanks for the ideas and for coming by!!
Lynda,
I love your fun techniques. These all turned out wonderful. Thanks again for sharing all your Art.
Hi Dolly, Thank you for stopping by and reading my ramblings!! One of these days I’m going to make it over to your shop!
The last example with it’s geometric nature is so strong and lovely, that I envision it as the centre or off centred start of a quilt? Solid color borders or pieced borders with the inclusion of the other two fabrics as you work your way out from the centre could be great and result in a coordinated look.
Eileen Gidman recently posted..Tutorial: Painting with Dyes – Greens!
Hi Eileen, What a fabulous idea for these pieces. Thanks!