Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Creating a workspace for hand dyed fabric

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I do all my dyeing in my basement right next to my machining machine. The same machine I do all my family laundry in. I bought a small light weight molded plastic table at the hard ware store. These tables are so handy and they come in many different sizes so I have them in different sizes that I use for different things. They are easy to move around because they are so light weight. The one I put in my basement area is  48” long because that is what fit in my space. I then extended it up to a working height by putting it up on PVC pipe. I am able to put my table next to my laundry sink. I also have a rubber mat on the hard concrete floor so that I protect my back and legs. This gives me a work area to mix my dyes and to spread out my containers while I am doing my gradation. I don’t ever have to move this set up.

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I can also use my washing machine to work on. I cover it with an old towel or blanket that I sprits with water. The damp surface will catch all the air born dyes and particles as they settle back to earth. Notice I put my blender in a dishpan to catch any spills and run over. What ever I need to do to contain any mess I might make makes clean up so much easier. If you don’t have a basement, maybe you can set up a work area in your garage or carport or the laundry area that you do have. Or even outside.

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Medium gradation, dark gradation, light gradation.

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Iris is one ofIMG_1264 the projects from my book. 

2 comments:

Carol said...

What a great set up. Looks very efficient.

Zizophora said...

Thank you for showing this! I've been so curious whether a separate washing machine was necessary/advised.

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