Tuesday 3 February 2009

Snow Dyeing Part 2


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After about 2 hours (in an ambient temperature of 15 C/60F) the snow had begun to melt and the liquid is already pooling in the bottom of the container.

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I decided to siphon off some of the excess dye using a pipette and use it to tray dye and tub dye some more cotton which had been soaked in soda solution. the piece in the flat tray was loosely pleated and folded round on itself and then dye was slowly squirted on randomly until all the fabric seemed covered. In the plastic tub behind I squirted dye into the bottom and layered part of the fabric into the liquid and tamped it down. I then squirted more dye in and pushed (gently) more fabric down. I repeated this action until all the fabric was covered. I tried to keep the layers loose so that I didn't compact all the colour. I'm hoping for a random, uneven effect.

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Above and below are the state of the snowdyed fabric after about 4 hours. I couldn't remember when/if I should add salt and consulted the internet for advice as the notes I had taken at my class were incomplete. In the end I decided that I would add a salt solution and did this once most of the snow had melted.

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I was going to wait until tomorrow to rinse the fabrics but I am worried about the excess liquid seeping back up and staining everything green so I will probably rinse tonight and hopefully will be able to show you tomorrow!

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12 comments:

sharon young said...

That's a new one on me, Julie, I've never heard of it before, but it looks as if you've got some lovely colours coming on there.

Maggi said...

I've never heard of this either. The shades are looking really interesting. Salt helps the penetration of the dye into the fabrics, you can either add it to the dye or separately so adding it early will have the most efficient result

Gina said...

New to me too! Never seen that done before. It will be interesting to see the results!

The WestCountryBuddha said...

Ooooo I can't wait to see the results of this. I haven't heard of snow dyeing before and am puzzled. Does it just stop the dye from getting to the fabric so you get less mixed dye colours or does it just prevent the dye from having an immediate effects so that the results are lighter. Intriguing. Don't keep me in suspense will you?! vbg.

Judy Scott said...

this is just so exciting cant wait till tomorrow ~ love how you photographed each step ~ Judy x

Lesley's Creations said...

Hi Julie. Never seen this one before! It looks like you've had fun with it. Looking forward to the results. xx

Shirley Goodwin said...

Look forward to seeing the results Julie. I did some ice dyeing last year, no noticeable difference so wouldn't do it again. Some dyers sprinkle the powder directly onto the snow which can look great but isn't recommended for health reasons.

Helen said...

Intriguing Julie,
i'll look forward to seeing the results!

Guzzisue said...

remember seeing several blogs last year where they were doing this so I'm looking forward to seeing the results :-)

Susan Lenz said...

Hi!
I really like this idea for dying fabric and can't wait to see your results. It seems so natural and sort of mysterious!
Susan
PS I'm glad to see your Random Trade arrived!

Sharne Gregory said...

I have never heard of dyeing this way, a pity I am back at work. If the snow comes tonight, I shalkl have to give it a go. Love the colours and effects that you got.

CAROLYN SAXBY said...

Hi Julie, thanks so much for sharing your snow dyeing technique. We have more bad weather forecast for the west tomorrow (Thursday) so I will try and have a go. I am going to try it with silk paints as well as procion dyes ...