Three color fun

I got together with several friends this week to dye fabric -- for them it was the first time they had the chance to play with dye and we had a great time. When they left, I took all the left over dye and used it to create these four fabrics: 

We used Procion Fiber Reactive Dyes from Dharma Trading Company with soda ash as the fixative. Soda Ash is what you add to your pool water to raise the PH level. You can find it in a pool supply store, at stores like Kmart or WalMart or from stores that sell the dye. After wetting the fabric and adding the dye and soda ash, we let the fabric sit for several hours in the warm sun before washing them out.

The colors we used were turquoise, jade and sky blue, clear yellow and deep yellow, light red and pagoda red. The greens and browns were a result of mixing yellow and blue (for the green) and three or more colors (for the brown.) I created my green fabric by first putting yellow on the fabric and then putting blue over top. I could have also mixed the yellow and blue dye together before putting it on the fabric. There are lots of different ways to apply the dye and create your colors. It's never boring and often a suprise if you're willing to take some time just to play.

We got different patterns by the way we folded or squeezed the fabric before adding the dye. The patterns are also affected by how you apply the dye (ie, pour it on, squirt it on slowly, or let the fabric sit in the dye and let the dye wick up or down. There are so many variables you can never create exactly the same pattern each time. That's what makes it challenging and fun.

If you ever get a chance to try dyeing fabric, go for it. You might just find a new passion.  I have to wait until the quilt group meets on Monday to see everyone else's fabric.

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