Tuesday, February 11, 2014

More Snow Dyed Fabric



We had another snow this week so I tried dying some more fabric with the snow.  This snow was MUCH denser, to the point that, when packed in the containers to take in the house, we had to take a knife to cut into the snow to lift it out of the container!  It also took TWO DAYS to melt in the house!  So a much different snow than the first batch, which was quite airy and dry.  I also did not use as much dye, not even a half teaspoon of powdered dye for each color.  I also put all three of my pieces of fabric in one large container and sprinkled different colors of dye on different areas, hoping that all three fabrics would come out differently.  I felt that I got a much better variety of "textures" with this batch.  The colors are still soft and I think that is due to using RIT dye instead of really good art fabric dye, which would allow the colors more intensity and brightness.  For my projects (the Spirit paintings), I like the softness and so I am pleased with the results I got this time.  

At the bottom of the post are the two T-shirts that my grandchildren dyed while they were here this weekend. Jacee is 10 and Trason is 5.  I was amazed at how beautiful their textures were.  They did a great job and I hope they will have fun telling their friends about the shirts they made!

NOTE:  Just a reminder, if you are trying this process, PLEASE wear protective mask and gloves.  The soda ash in particular is mildly caustic and can irritate your skin.  Wear gloves, mask, and eye protection.  Rinse off at once to avoid eye and skin irritation.  You should also wear a mask when using the dye as powdered dye can easily become air born.  

Remember, these three fabrics were in the same container!


Canvas, approximately 18x36"-some very nice soft texturing on this piece.

This is a large piece of 100% cotton fabric approximately 36x45".  This has much more white in it than any of the others and will take some thought as to how I want to use this piece.  OR I can redye it or paint in some of the white areas.  The best part is that there is heavy texturing where they dye took. 

This is a smaller piece of canvas and probably my favorite out of this batch.  Again, there is more white, but also much more texture.  Love this piece.

Take note of the colors of these shirts.....Jacee and Trason used the same two dyes on their snow, but each put their own dye on the snow and just the difference in how much and where they put the dye turned out these two very different shirts!

This is the front of Jacee's shirt.  This is the first time she has ever used dye.  The shirts were prepared for the dye before the children arrived for the weekend so the children were not exposed to the soda ash at all.  I would suggest that you prepare everything in advance if you are allowing children to work with this process.  The top of the shirt in particular has some beautiful texturing.

This is the back of Jacee's shirt.

This is Trason's T-shirt.  He is 5 and I thought this came out absolutely amazing!  The photo does not show the actual color, which is more blue and purple rather than gray.  The texturing in all parts of the shirt are gorgeous.  I wish my canvases had come out this good! 

This is the back of Trason's shirt.  Again, the color in the photo is off a little.  A beautiful job!

Please feel free to leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear from you!



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