I think it is really fun if you dye fabric with a friend. Especially if you have never done anything like this before. I suggest that you each take a turn mixing the dyes and then squishing the fabric. It is especially nice if you designate a “clean” person and a “dirty” person. The clean person handles the fabric and the dirty person handles the dye, and then you switch. Make a day of it doing all the gradations. You will be very tired but you will have a lot of fun laughing and working together.
Once you have finished the first gradation you can now make a second gradation. From each of the 3 basic mixed dyes in the original quart bottles – yellow, red and a blue – measure out 1/2 cup of dye. Place each color separately into a new quart container. To each container add 2 cups of water. Shake the containers well to mix or place them back in the blender and mix well. Use these 3 new basic dyes to dye a new set of 1-12 fat quarters using the gradation chart in the book. This gradation will produce a light value set of colors.
Then your third gradation of colors will be a “blackened” value of colors. For the third gradation, we will add mixed black dye to the 3 basic colors that are left in the original bottles. As with the other gradations, have 12 new numbered fabrics ready in the sodium carbonate water and do your third set.
You will end up with three value sets of gradations – medium, dark and light.
Medium value (original set) blackened set and light value set. Yellow, Red, Blue.
You can also do a whole set with the dyes Lemon Yellow, Fuchsia and Turquoise.
And of course there are lots of yellows, reds and blues out there to experiment with.
Every dyer needs a little helper.
No comments:
Post a Comment