Musings on quilting, sewing, fabric and dyeing by Janet Smith ( www.textileart.com )

Here’s another color wheel using Cerulean, Light Red and Tangerine.  This wheel has a lot more oomph!  The steps are more balanced than Color Wheel 1, but could use some tweaking.
 
I used the same procedures as Color Wheel 1, just different color dyes.

Posted under Dye Class, Dyeing, Quilting, Uncategorized

Here’s an example of dyeing a very simple color wheel. I soaked fabric in soda ash solution and let it air dry (do not use your clothes dryer).  After the fabric was dry, I cut/ripped approximately 3″ square pieces and painted dye on the pieces using a ½” flat brush.  I used two parts water to one part dye stock so the examples wouldn’t be too dark.  You do not need much dye - see table below for dye stock and water amounts.
 
Dyes used in this example are ‘primaries’: Turquoise, Fuchsia and Lemon.  I am not a big fan of Turquoise (to get a good yield, you need to use Glauber’s salt instead of regular salt).  And, as the example shows, the Turquoise needs help.
 
The purpose here is to show how different dyes ‘hold up’ against each other.  Yellow is generally weak against Blue and Red.  To get a good Green or Orange, you may want to use twice as much Yellow.  Depending on the particular Red or Blue, they may be about equal - or not.  In these tests, the Turquoise really wimped out and the Fuchsia is quite strong against the Lemon.
 
Now, the fun begins!  Experimenting with different colors and seeing how they look when mixed.  What if all 3 are mixed together?  Mud?  Or, just the color you needed?  Try it!

Posted under Dye Class

These aren’t the greatest images, but you will get the idea. The Pro Chemical method (add dye then activator - little agitation) is on the left. My method (add dye and soda ash together - smoosh) is on the right.

Different results from different methods. Why? It’s the timing of adding the soda ash/activator. The Pro Chemical method is letting the fibers react with the dye for a while before ’setting’. My method throws everything at the fibers at once.

[This is one of the reasons I do not use premixed colors. I mix my own from pure dyes. With the exception of Chinese Red (Dharma)/Strongest Red (Pro Chemical) which is supposed to be a standard mix. I say supposedly, because it is not always the case.]

So which is THE CORRECT METHOD ? ? ? Either one. If you browse books on dyeing, you will see many methods of dyeing. It depends on the results you want. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s their way or the highway.

[I go through, what some would call unnecessary, extra steps when doing appliqué. Too bad. I am not forcing you to do it my way.]

Buy a lot of inexpensive muslin. Experiment. Keep a notebook of your tests and methods. Re-dye the ‘uglies’. HAVE FUN!

Posted under Dye Class