I showed you recently the results of low immersion dyeing using Dawn’s old dyes. If you missed it, here is the post. I wanted to see how they would ice dye. I only picked those colors that would split. Every one of the dyes pretty much split as expected except, again, the Royal Blue was a dud. From top to bottom: Brick, Olive, Sapphire Blue, Camel, and Blue Violet.
I had trouble with the Royal Blue when I dyed it the first time. When I did the second experiment, it dyed perfectly. I thought it was an operator error. Now I’m not so sure. I ice dyed these as I always do using my calculator to decide on how much dye. The above five worked perfect. The Royal Blue bombed. I left out a picture of it since it was not blog worthy! Royal Blue was also what I used to dye Dave’s shirts in the last post.
Dave liked how the Olive looked ice dyed (the second fabric down in the picture above), so I dyed him a 50/50 shirt. Here is the finished shirt.
As you can tell, it’s a bit muted. I added a little more dye than I normally would, and batched the shirt for 48 hours instead of 24. It reminds me more of snow dyeing, lacking the distinct markings the ice usually leaves. But I was amazed at the color I got on this 50/50. That being said, Dave really likes it. It’s been fun playing with these old dyes and testing the 50/50 shirts.
A couple more irises showed their faces in my garden this past week.
I’ve been giving my sewing machines a workout lately. Can’t wait to get the project completed so I can post it. So far only one broken needle!! Have a good week.
Lynda thank you for all the lovely posts. I have learned so much about Ice Dying from you and am now doing it. I truly love your Irises as they were always a favorite for me growing up & living 50 years in Ohio. Sadly they don’t grow in FL so I now grow orchids on a patio. I hope to someday take a class from you.
Great results with the old dyes. I have also had good results with mixed liquid dyes stored in frig for 1-2 years! I mix a strong concentrate, 2-3 T + 4oz water, then use as needed, sometimes full strength on pre-soaked soda ash, sometimes further diluted. Beautiful irises, Great pics, thank you.
Pam, That’s great that they lasted that long. I’ve never kept them that long. I have some out in the dye studio that are probably 6 months old. I’ll have to play with them. Thanks for dropping by.
Mary Jo. You are so welcome. So glad I have helped you with ice dyeing. I use to have lots of irises but just too much garden area for me to handle. I gave away a lot of them, but still have a couple small spots. Orchids are nice. Would love to have you in a class. Thanks for dropping by and commenting.