Today I awoke to the pile of snow that was forecast, about 6", the poor birds must have chilly tummies from walking through the snow.
I decided to give snow-dyeing a try. I've never done it before but have seen some interesting results. I had a quick Google and found some tutorials, I used this straightforward one from
Lucy. I also read this more detailed one from
Prochemical & Dye.
My amazing DH found some soda ash in the garage - I think he has everything one could possibly want in the garage, just not always sure where exactly.
The fabric soaked in the soda ash (1/3 cup), salt (1/2 cup) and hot water bath for half an hour. Then I packed it in plastic boxes with snow and the fun part began.
I used Procion dyes, in powder form, and sat the concoctions on the woodburner the let the snow melt and the magic happen.
While I was using the kitchen as a dye-house I unwrapped my steamed poinsettia:
Hmmm, another sludgy brown piece, the red that seemed to be seeping through has vanished. Never mind, onward and upward!
As the snow melted I wondered whether I should start draining the pieces, or they would end up with everything the same colour. I noticed from various blogs that some people dye on a grid or mesh or slope their containers so I imagine this is for that reason.
This piece was not drained and so all the dyes have mixed, quite a nice orange though! The others were similar so I tried dyeing them again, this time on a wire cooling tray.
When the snow had melted I rinsed my pieces of fabric and, tah-dah:
Not bad for a first attempt. I think I should have scrunched or tied the fabric more tightly maybe and definitely the wire grid is the way to go. I also think I could have left it outside to get the fabric and dye really cold rather than rushing the process. More playing another day I think and I can certainly see myself using these pieces for a little project.
