Masked Surface Design

With no internet connection at the shop yesterday my plans to catch up on the business side of things was thwarted. Damn, lol. There was nothing to it but to indulge in a little creative play.

This fabric was dyed earlier in the year. It is slated to be used to make some patchwork bean bag style poufs. But first I wanted to jazz it up a bit more. I’ve masked up a simple grid.

Acrylic paint was mixed with fabric fixative then rollered onto the fabric.

Once the paint was dry I rubbed silver paintstick onto the masking tape. Using a hard toothbrush I brushed it onto the fabric.

Most of the masking tape has been removed. The oil has yet to evaporate out of the paintstick. Depending on the humidity this may take a couple of days.

More often than not I pop the fabric outside in the sun and it is ready for heat setting in a day but we have a miserable wet day here so I will just have to be patient.

Now to jazz up the other couple of pieces in the same colourway using different patterns  and techniques.

Salt Dye

The results are in from last week’s dyeing adventures.

This is a fun activity to do with children however I love the subtle spots of colour.

I love stitching random floral shapes and building collage pieces.

This was from the piece I wrapped in cling wrap and hung up. You can see the colours started to run a little. If the sun had played its part better the colour would have run more like water down a window pane. Never mind the fabric certainly won’t go to waste.

Holiday Craft Fun

While Alan has been busy replacing the pergola roof,

 

I’ve been inside crafting up a storm. Once the Bedroom Make-Over was complete I started creating Suffolk Puffs for my (much) older sister’s 50th Birthday Quilt.

 

All of the patterned jumbo puffs are complete, I still need 78 more jumbo puffs in my Eco Dyed Fabric.

This fabric is now drying on the line. Still have a heap of large puffs to make but have plenty of time up my sleeve, her birthday is not until August.

I couldn’t find a diary with a full day to a page, including weekends, in a pretty colour this year. Mind you I didn’t spend anytime looking either.

As the sewing machines was up I whipped up a fabric cover for my diary. Just in case I find myself regretting so much pink I have made it reversible. Much easier to find in my bag as well.

Working on a few other projects as well which hopefully won’t take the remainder of they year to finish. Wish me luck.

Dylon Dye 67–Rosewood Red

This one is my new favourite colour.

From left to right: Washed Silk, Cotton, Sari Silk. To date this colour has dyed to the most similar shade. Not as much variation across fabrics.

A cotton rich singlet top. I do believe this will be a popular colour.

Is Dyeing Popular?

This is my usual dye display.

They tick over but they are certainly not what I would call a big seller. That is until the last few weeks.

For the fourth week in a row this is what is left of my dye stock after Sunday Trading. I’m not complaining ( maybe a little when I was packaging at 5.30am this morning) just curious. Has there been a dyeing project in a magazine or on TV lately?

Dylon Dyes 65- Dyeing Corks

When I finished with the Burlesque Red in this post I decided to do some exhaust dyeing, with a difference.

I dumped a heap of champagne corks into the mix. mmmm????? Problem, they floated on the top.

I needed to find a way to weight them down so they were immersed in the dye. I left them overnight.

Here they are drying. They are more stained with red than dyed a solid colour.

I’m quite happy with the way they turned out. I actually had a reason for trying this, there is a project floating around in the back of my brain somewhere. Stay tuned. More to come.

Dylon Dye 63–Burlesque Red

Great name for a lovely colour.

The feather on the front cover is a good representation of the colour but as usual there is some variations due to fabric and weave.

The top left fabric is cotton, the bottom left is washed silk and the fabric on the far right is sari silk.

This t-shirt was cotton rich with 5% Viscose.
I also did some exhaust dyeing with a difference. Will share the photos when project is finished.

Look What I Found in the Back of the Fridge

Not month old vegetables. Thickened dye left over from some project or other.

I spooned it onto a glass plate.

Then with gloved hands started spreading it out.

Before placing a piece of brushed cotton on top. I used the brayer to ensure good contact.  Now at this stage I need to make a couple of points. The thickened dye was old and there was no guarantees about its effectiveness. I also hadn’t actually planned to do this so hadn’t properly prepared the fabric, no prewashing etc. So colourfastness wasn’t a priority or even likely.

I could have sworn I  took a photo of the fabric before this stage but sadly no. After I had finished stamping the t-shirt from yesterday I used the leftover gold paint to add a little detail.

No need for heat setting. The dye wasn’t set so I couldn’t see any point in going through the motions. I’m now pondering my next move. Exactly how I will use it is unknown except that it won’t be washable. I have a few ideas but with the busy time of the year quickly appearing it might be put on the back burner for a little while. Something else for the list.

Dylon Dye 60- French Lavendar

French Lavendar was my next choice to try out the new Dylon colours.

As usual I set out to dye a piece of cotton, washed silk and sari silk. I also dyed a cotton t-shirt. But first the fabric.

The cotton is on the left. And yes for all you eagle eyes there are only 2 pieces not 3. I prepared the third piece, sari silk, then completely missed it when immersing the fabric in the dye bath. It lives to dye another day.

An interesting problem with the t-shirt. As soon as I immersed it into the dye I could see a small blue particle of dye that hadn’t dissolved properly  go and attach it self to the shoulder. The instructions on the pack say to mix well, I would recommend mixing very well.

See what  I do to the t-shirt tomorrow.

A Little Refresh

I can’t remember where I picked up this little cotton crocheted jacket from.

I do know it was a bargain, and crying out for some colour.

I picked Green. Pretty summer colour, perfect for cool evenings.

Dylon Dye 59–Antique Grey

This is Dylon’s new Antique Grey. This t-shirt was originally white. You can really notice the difference between the silk and the cotton t.

p.s. I’ve been practicing my photoshop skills with my new glasses. Think I was doing better without them.

Dylon Dye 59–Antique Grey

I was really excited about trying Dylon’s new Antique Grey and I wasn’t disappointed.

I dyed 3 pieces of fabric, cotton, washed silk and a sari silk.
The cotton is a real pewter shade of grey which is what I expected. The Washed Silk has a very distinct  muted purple hue, very pretty. The Sari Silk is a much lighter shade of the purple.  In the dye bath I also dyed a cotton t-shirt, making the total weight of fabric dyed just under the recommended 250g.
Thinking I will try the French Lavender next.

New Dylon Dyes

I received a lovely surprise in the mail the other day, the 7 new Dylon Dye colours were sent to me to trial. Needless to say I’m very excited and busy trying to clear some time to play. In the meantime I will share the new colours with you.

 This will be a popular addition for all the pink fans out there. The original pink is a lolly pink, this one should prove to be a little softer.

I can smell the lavender from here.

Two very different reds.

Can’t wait to see how this colour dyes.

This is currently my favourite and will be the first one I try.

And this one will be the last one I try. Not a fan of beige at the best of times. So for the purposes of the trial I will call it light brown.
I’ll post updates as I go just like I did with the original colours.

Op Shop Find Refashioned

Popped into the op shop on the way home last weekend and found this vest. It has these amazingly detailed panels. It also was covered in grubby stains. I wanted to dye it but first needed to remove the stains. Overnight in some Nappysan and they were all gone. Next morning I popped it into some of Dylon’s Tulip Red. I also want to add some further embellishments so no more photos until its all done.