Saturday, May 15, 2010

My Dyeing Day



































































Oh it felt so very good to be dyeing again! I haven't done indigo in way too long. It is undoubtedly my fav natural dye, it is just magic! If you haven't seen an indigo pot, you really should... when you first pull the cloth out of the bucket it is a weasley yellow brown, not at all attractive. As the air hits it, and the oxygen reacts with it, the cloth begins to turn blue, slowly, then faster. As it passes through green it is still a bit sickly looking, but getting more interesting, but the richness of the blues as it developes its full color, ooh, lovely! One dip, light, two dips, darker, a linen/rayon blend shirt I had that had a stain I just couldn't get out got three dips and turned a deep rich blue that gave the true indigo its name. These pieces are samples for a dye class I will do later this month at G Street Fabrics in Falls Church VA. I will probably also make a wall hanging from some of them. I wanted to do something patriotic but couldn't get the reds together... now they all go! Overdyeing is a wonderful thing! Maybe another piece too, I am not sure. Unfortunately, one of the gloves had a hole in it. Ugh. Skin is protein, and indigo dyes protein very well.
I got more cleaning done too! I am actually able to see my whole floor now! That only leaves the table and desktops and the ledges underneath! I am making progress! EeHah!

4 comments:

Sharon said...

I had planned to do some natural dyeing this spring, including indigo, and this weekend found a cast iron pot at a garage sale! Now I just need to find a copper one. I'm not holding my breath.

I love the results from indigo but I'm still not completely comfortable. Too bad you live so far away~

Kim said...

Oh Sharon, don't tell anyone, but it really is so easy, really!

jude said...

so nice to find indigo here.

Eva said...

thanks for the comment! no, there's nothing quite like indigo :)

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