Fabric Dyeing has been a fun, creative way to make unique fabrics for my quilting.  This spring, I spent some time playing around with stitched shibori.  I wanted to figure out how to create drawings in the dye.  I also wanted to try hand painting before and after dyeing the fabric.

So, I set out to do a few experiments.

Experiment #1. Nui Shibori flower and over-dyeing painted fabric

• Draw pattern on the fabric with a water soluble fabric marker
• Stitch the drawn lines  with polyester thread
• Dissolve Dye in 1 ml Urea Water, Add 2 T Print Paste, 14 ml Urea Water, 1/8 tsp Mixed Alkali, Mix well

1.               Dark Pink = ¼ tsp Mixing Red
2.               Light Pink = 1/16 tsp Mixing Red
3.               Dark Blue = ¼ tsp Mixing Blue
4.               Light Blue = 1/16 tsp Mixing Blue
5.               Green = 1/8 tsp Evergreen

• Paint dye on fabric areas within the shibori stitching

• Paint dye in sections for over-dyeing

 

• Allow to dry for 4 hours
• Pull center threads and tie off

• Place in 1000 ml of 0.15 mg/ml Mixing Blue Dye (with Soda Ash)
• Batch for 5 hours
• Wash with Blue Dawn, Dry and Iron

Lessons Learned:

• Shibori pattern turned out well
• Dye painting turned out well, but the the color edges were too crisp – use less Print Paste next time
• Over-dyeing does not change the underlying painted color very much

Experiment #2.  Whole Cloth Pattern:

• Design quilting using QuiltCAD program

• Stitch section outlines on long arm with polyester thread for pattern placement when quilting
• Draw shibori pattern by holding water soluble marker in the needle position and running pattern on trace

• Hand stitch shibori sections

 

• Dye Paint:

1. Mixed Alkali: ½ tsp mixed with 8 ml Urea water
2. Yellow: 1/8 tsp Golden Yellow in 10 ml Urea water; Combine 1 ml concentrate with 6 ml Print Paste, 3 ml Urea water and 0.6 ml Mixed Alkali
3. Green: 1/8 tsp Evergreen in 15 ml Urea Water. Combine 7.5 ml concentrate with 15 ml PP and 1.5 ml MA
4. Dark Pink: 1/8 tsp MR in 15 ml Urea water.  Combine 7.5 ml concentrate with 15 ml PP and 1.5 ml MA
5. Light Pink: Combine 3 ml MR concentrate with 15 ml PP and 1.5 ml MA

• Paint on Fabric sections of shibori stitching

• Allow to dry for 4 hours
• Pull center threads and tie off
• Stitch Floss “Ties” to center of fabric to help with lifting in/out of water
• Make Dye Concentrate: Mixing Blue 10 gm in 100 ml Urea Water (100 mg/ml)
• Place in 4000 ml Soda Ash solution in bucket
• Add dye concentrate at 5 minute intervals (10 ml, 10 ml, 10 ml, 10ml, 40 ml) = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 2.0 mg/ml to create an ombre effect
• Lift fabric a small amount after each dye increment
• Prop fabric up on support dripping into empty bucket, cover with plastic bag

• Batch for 4 hours

• Clip and remove all sewing lines
• Wash with Blue Dawn, Dry and Iron

• Quilt as planned

Lessons Learned:

• Paint center dye before pulling tight the outer threads – easier than having to paint on a bubble
• If you forget the first step – sealed air packs work well to fill the bubble for painting

• Fabric will trap air, creating a bubble, in the middle – easy to keep the center section out of the dye bath.
• Use a color of thread different from the color of dye – makes it easier to remove the threads.
• The fabric dye paint did not turn out as well as I had hoped.  So, after quilting, I repainted the fabric dye without Print Paste for a smoother look

 

I entered this quilt in the Minnesota State Fair on a whim to see what the judges comments would be regarding the shibori  and hand painting technique.  Boy was I surprised that it was awarding a blue ribbon!