Tuesday Tip - Dyeing

Once you begin dyeing it in inevitable that someone will either ask you to teach or donate your time to a group. I have done both over the years. I like to arrive with the dyes pre-mixed (with no soda ash). It took me many times of having the dye jars leak in transit before I found the perfect container:

Water bottles.

Finally a good use for these throw aways! I mix up 500 ml of dye at a time and put them in 700 ml bottles. Knock on wood, haven't had one leak, yet! I mix up my soda ash in 3X the strength and carry it in strong gallon containers (I have heard stories of milk containers leaking - so I like old juice containers). I carry everything in old, clean kitty litter containers. When I arrive it doesn't take long to put the dyes out, add one of the gallon containers of soda ash to the kitty bucket + 2 more gallons of water and start the fun!

Taste of Shibori Class A Fun Way to Spend a Saturday

Yesterday I was privileged to teach a class for the Black Sheep Weavers on the subject of Shibori. Because it was only one day I could only give a taste of the numerous different methods the Japanese have developed over the years to resist fabric prior to dyeing.

I divided the day into 4 traditional resist groups: binding, stitching, binding and clamping, and of course, pole wrapping. I could make a 3-5 day workshop out of any one of these groups so we had to keep a rather quick pace.

Binding:
Essentially this is pinching a bit of cloth and wrapping thread at the base. In Japan a skilled artisan can make thousands of these to create designs. I must admit that I do not have the patience to pursue this, but I do like making circles on the cloth by putting beans or marbles in the cloth and putting a rubber band at the base. Can't get the small designs, but these can look pretty nifty. I also like the variation of taking a bit of the cloth and pulling it through a ring until it is snug and then dyeing. I like to use pony beads or straws cut to about 1" in length. You can put lots of these on a yard of fabric pretty quickly. This is a variation of a Japanese technique that used bamboo rings to create a resist.

Stitching:

One of my favorite techniques. I really like pole wrapping, but when I am doing the hand stitching there is a zen like rhythm to the process. For most of the stitching techniques all you basically use is a simple running stitch. Making rows of running stitches creates the mokume design- which translates to wood grain, a great description for the effect. There are also variations where you fold the fabric and then make a running stitch. Whatever method you choose, the fabric is scrunched on the thread prior to dyeing. This is what creates the resist design.

Fold and Clamp:

This method is one everyone has probably tried - either in art class at school or with some other group of friends. The fabric is folded in a certain way and clamped prior to dyeing. Many times only the edges of the fold are dipped into the dye creating lines on the fabric. Or a board in a smaller but similar shape to the folded fabric is clamped on top and the entire piece is dyed. Here is Jacqueline Gilbert admiring the piece she made using this method.




Pole Wrapping

This is the method many people think of when they think of shibori. Essentially, the fabric is wrapped around a PVC pipe, thread is wrapped around the cloth and the cloth is scrunched on the pipe to form a resist. I then have people soak the pipe in soda ash solution, apply as many colors of dye they want, and wrap plastic around the entire piece to let it set overnight. This insures a better dye set, but it is the most frustrating! I can not see what everyone has done! Hopefully, some of them will share their pieces with me at meetings we both attend, because as a teacher that is one of the best parts - to see what others have done and to have them happy with the process.

The pace of the day was quick, but everyone got to go home with some great samples and a pole wrapped silk scarf. Many people said they were glad that the class covered all the different methods as there were some gaps in their understanding of shibori that they can now understand.

Overall it was an exhausting, but terrific day!

Warp Painting with Lanaset Dyes in 10 Easy Steps!

First I want to say: OBSERVE ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS - ie. no eating or drinking, use a mask to make the dyes, wear old clothes and rubber gloves.....

1. Wind your warp as usual. Mark every inch or so of the warp (depending on the design you are trying to achieve). I like to use tyvek squares marked with numbers tied to one end of the warp

2. Wash your warp using a drop of synthrapol - make sure you have protected the warp with plenty of ties

3. Make your soak bucket. I add 105 g citric acid to 4L (1 gallon) of water. I prefer citric acid to vinegar because of the smell (citric acid has none)

4. Put your warp in the soak bucket for at least 1/2 hour.

5. Mix your dyes - I like to use 5g/250ml water- that is I mix 5 grams of dye in 250 milliliters of water.

6. Lay out some plastic wrap on your table. Have your soak bucket at one end. Pull your warp out and lay it on the plastic wrap in order.

7. NOW THE FUN PART! Using a paint brush ( I like the foam ones) - paint your warp . I like to let serendipity take over at this point. The most important thing to do is make sure the underside warp is painted also - you may have to flip it over and check. You may also have to mop up any excess dye - I like to use cloth that I can process later to create something beautiful instead of paper towels.

8. As you continue to paint lay more plastic wrap on top of your warp - either a new layer or fold the sides in on top - the important thing is to keep the warp moist at this point. Roll it up as you go and pull out new warp to paint until you are done.

9. I let the entire bundle rest for about 1/2 hr or so - it can rest longer, but that is the minimum.

10.Then I place it in a steam basket and put into a pot of water- making sure it never touches the water and steam for 30 minutes. I let it rest again until it reaches room temp (this is the tough time to wait and see) and ***NOW FOR THE MAGIC *** unwrap - it's like a birthday present every time!