"Fabric Dyers Handbook" by Linda Johansen

This is a cross post from my Book Blog because I thought it would be of interest to all of you fabric artists who enjoy dyeing your own fabrics.

This is a new book that arrived today from C&T Publishing. Despite the fact that the author, Linda Johansen, and I share a last name - I don't know her. Ratz!  This is a book that I really, really like. It is clearly and concisely written and is exceptionally well illustrated. The book is well laid out.

The basic are, of course, covered in the beginning of the book with detailed instructions for handling and mixing dyes- and the importance of record keeping- something that I was never very good at doing. I just always loved the kismet of the process - I liked never knowing what would happen. Linda compares clear, muted and black colors offered by both ProChem and Dharma Trading.

Instructions and measurements are provided for dyeing fat quarters, half yards and yards of fabric - cutting down on some of the guess work and, I think, causing less waste of materials in the long run. Rainbows are a favorite for us all and Ms. Johansen's instructions are easy to follow to create a rainbow in clear, muted or dark colors.

Linda Johansen has had 5 books, I think it is, published through C&T Publishing. I am so pleased to have this as an addition to my dyeing library. I think it's a book that will please anyone who has an interest in hand dyeing their own fabrics. Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your wonderful local book store or directly through C&T Publishing.

The back of the book includes some speciality  techniques such as: 

tie dyeing, rolling, patterning, pleating and dipping.

What A Trade! Fingerless Mittens For Gorgeous Hand-Dyed Fabric!

 

You can double click on these photos

 to get a much better view of the gloves and the fabric!

I love make & wear fingerless gloves/mitts.  Making them is like therapy for me & wearing them has proven to be the cure for my endlessly cold hands in the winter - when I wear them almost around the clock! I offered to send  mitts to cyber friend Terri Cohen (owner of From Here to Quilt Eternity) who said "sure! I'd like to try them" so I popped a dusty plum colored pair in the mail  - hoping that she would enjoy them.

Fast forward about a week and an envelope arrives that is filled with glorious hand dyed fabric. It was a "thank-you" from Terri! I had neither expected nor wanted anything in return and I definitely think that I got the best of this 'gifting' ! Terri sent a six piece gradation of browns as well as yardage of my favorite green ever and a glorious, eye popping, piece of red. Her hand-dyes are lush and beautiful and I was thrilled to see them!

I ask you- don't you agree that I got the best of this ?!! Anyone else need a pair of fingerless mitts??!! Thank you Terri - your generosity was not expected but I can't wait to find the perfect quilt to use these fabrics in!! Who says cyber friends aren't 'real' friends??!

JOAN MORRIS: Workshop Day 3

Here we are at day 3 in this amazing workshop. As we wended our way to the ferry Janet & I both agreed that we were quite exhausted but also impressed with the class. Using natural dyes is so time consuming compared to Procioin dyes. The colors - for my tastes- are perfect however - so it seems just about worth it. Janet, on the other hand, is not that partial to the muted colors although I think she rather likes the cochineal and lac madder - and the indigo is a big hit with all of I think!

In this group of photos Joan is demonstrating the use of 'capping'. This technique is karamatsu - or Japanese larch pattern. A cork is securely wrapped in a double or quadruple layer of plastic wrap )so it does not soak up dye) and then the top of the bit pf fabric is also protected with plastic and wrapped around the cork.

Photo above: the bottom of the fabric showing the securely wrapped cork
Photo below: the right side of the fabric showing how the cap should look.

Photo Below: How to wrap a small bit of fabric to add more textural dimension.

These next two photographs show two glorious pieces of fabric that were patterened with the capping - or karamatsu shibori - technique.

It's worth double clicking, I think, to see a more close up view of these fabrics!

Finally -some dyed fabrics! These were the products of the second day of the class. Two dyebaths were made on Day 2. Madder and Fustic. Madder was the one dye that I had lusted to use. Unfortunately, since I was rushing to wrap things up so that I could get on the ferry I never got any fabrics into the madder bath. Arghhhhhhhh!! Fabric must be thoroughly soaked (for an hour or more) and then mordanted (another hour or more) in order to have them ready for the dye. I had not managed to get these steps done in time! I did have a piece of silk that I got into the fustic bath though and it produces a beautiful golden yellow that I love.

The madder dyed pieces float in the breeze on the left & the fustic pieces are to the right

What fascinated me the most about using natural dyes is how very different they can be depending on the fabrics used. I had a selection of silks, silk & wool blend and some ultra soft rayon twill. Many folks brought some hemp/silk fabric that I loved (and will have to order some from Dharma) that took the dyes very well. The wools and wool blends seemed to take very well to these dyes while the silks & other blends dyed to varying shades.

They look like prayer flags to me!

These photos show a technique called "fireflies". The name made me remember how much I miss seeing the fireflies that filled my childhood evenings with awe. Joan sews on cotton balls of varying thickness to achieve these effects. This is something that I will have to try ! Hearing her speak about all of the different things that she has tried to achieve this effect was interesting! I think that's what I like the most about dyeing ... the "what if" questioins that float through one's brain !

Another fabulously creative day - tomorrow- the final day of class- we were able to unwrap some of our 'mystery' pieces to see what lay beneath!

JOAN MORRIS: Workshop Day 2

This is an amazing piece of textile artistry!
Please remember that all of the photos may be double clicked for a more detailed view

The photo below shows Joan working on a piece of cloth that she is making for use in "The Lion King". It's a very large piece of fabric & there is a lot of hand stitching to be done. Joan's method of stitching & pulling the threads though the fabric to make the designs is very detailed (though not that difficult) - from her 30+ plus years of doing it she makes it all look so easy!

Next up is a demonstrating of pole wrapped Arashi Shibori. I remember doing this with Sarah some time around 2002. We did not really know what we were doing at the time since we were both "book taught" dyers. Although we made a good attempt -I think that being able to see a master at work on the pole really opened my eyes about proper technique. One again, this technique is deceptively simple - although many differing effects can be achieved simply by how you lay the fabric on the pole. Wrapping on the bias produces a beautiful 'wood-grain' effect. Who would 'a thunk?!

Situating the fabic on the pole - in this case on the bias for a 'wood grain' effect

Beginning to wrap the string around the pole

Demonstration of how to bunch the fabric up on the pole -
yes, there is a definite technique to get this correct!

We were fortunate to have a true indigo vat going. Joan used dyes from Earthhues for this class. Earthues offers two indigo's - a true fermentation vat and a chemically reduced vat.Becuae of out time limitations we used the chemically reduced vat - which still needs to be tended. I thought of how I 'feed' yeast for sour dough bread watching Joan 'feed' the vat. It was a fascinating process really and I should have perhaps done more with indigo when I had the opportunity to do so. I only made one small piece of indigo - pole wapped Arashi on sand-washed silk charmeuse. Simple lines resulted - I have a photo that I will post this week along with some work from some of the other 'students' who really should be teaching rather than taking classes !

Some of he indigo pieces hanging on the line. Each piece required a number of 'dips' - at timed intervals' - to achieve a depth of color. Four to six dips results in a deeper blue while less than that will result in a pale blue. One of the folks who should be teaching rather than learning is Peggy Hunt who wrapped the small piece in the photo above using those round metal pieces. Come to think of it I never did get to see what this looked like unwrapped and I wanted to ask her what those metal pieces are - I want to get some of them. If anyone knows the answer -please let me know !

Just look at this wealth of stitching and textural effects!

The photos below show one of my favorite pieces. This is Joan's work & is, in my opinion, drop dead gorgeous!! As you can see Joan's stitching is perfection (she would be an awesome quilter for sure!) She is working on adding the texture that will be in between these "petals". The "petals" were made by blocking, discharging, blocking again and then over-dyeing - there may well have been another round of blocking, discharging & over-dywing in that description! This piece is destined to be a gift for one very blessed recipient!

Next Joan showed us how to wrap 'spiders'. I think that this became, for many of us, a favorite techniques because it was, relatively speaking, fairly easy & quick to do. Depending on the fabric that you choose to work with the effect can be very different. Although it is one of the easier techniques to achieve - it is also one of my favorite in terms of effect. Note the 'high-tech' equipment that we used. I gather that there is an appropriately expensive 'professional' model of this C-clamp arrangement -but this works very well. Unfortunately, although I know I bought small c-clamps in the past I can't find them ! I am am still looking though and may just have to spring for some new ones! Hummmm --- I wonder how wrapping over springs might look?!

Here you can see the wrapped piece of fabric as well as the finished piece after repeated dips in indigo. You can also vary the shape from round to more square....
Below is a piece of Joan's that is another of my favorites - she used a beautiful, light weight silk & this 'spider' technique. Isn't it totally awesome? As you might guess this peice was tied, dyed, discharged and over-dyed several times to get these brillaint color effects.

Another piece of Joan's - I think this one was still considered "a work in progress". Each piece that she shared was inspiring, brilliant & occasioned many oooohhhhh's & ahhhhh's !

This photo does not, in any way, do this red piece of cloth justice. It is tied all across the surface in thousands of tiny wraps that create the 'puckered' surface. There are thousands of over-dyed black dots. I just could not get a photo that did justice to the texture, color and work that was involved to create this amazing textile.

Seen from another angle - the black becomes more apparent

Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed this class? Stay tuned for day 3 !

Results From The Dye Painting Class

It's amazing how this simple combination of color just makes me sigh -
like being outdoors on a sunny day!

As you can see from these photos. I had a wonderful, fun play time in Ann Johnston's Dye Painting class . I had somewhat forgotten what a "high" it can be to do this sort of work. Now, at least, I know that I will be doing more of it! I have 4 pieces that I will be working on some more today and I also have 5 pairs of socks curing in colors that I could not find and needed: warm brown, moss green,gray,deep red & one that will be a surprise. I can't wait to share the other pieces - of course they may look great or they may look bad -- that's what I love about this technique. You can make add as much serendipity as you wish to the process! I wish I had taken more photos of people's work - but the lighting really left a lot to be desired. Hopefully, Robin will post some photos of her work on her blog. Her fabrics were magical - even as a "dye virgin" as she called herself!

In other news, I need some feedback from those of you who have been stopping by for awhile. I am considering, for a variety of reasons, switching to TypePad for my blog. I am wondering if making the change would bother you - or would you follow the blog in the new location? I have twelve more days to decide - so I would appreciate comments and feed back about this. Thanks!!!! in advance!

Violet and gold -
One of my favorite color combinations !

A touch of lime green & yellow with some red & black.
I like this funky little piece!

Another limey green and dark violet combination.
I was experimenting with shadow shapes

Two new pairs of socks that are richer in color than this shows.
They were thrown into whatever colors I had left at the end of the day

This is one of my favorite pieces - crazy wild I think!

Navy blue, red and green. Not sure what I think of this...but there it is!

Some good old low water immersion (LWI) dyeing. Love this piece!
The combination of violet & golds or rusts seems to be a
thread that ran through my work during this workshop.

This is my "end of day" cloth. I sopped up the left over colors with this "rag".
The 'rags' are always quite interesting! Sometimes all muddy - sometimes usable!

What Fun At The Fair!

Every year our Textile Guild has a lot of great mini workshops at the Fair - as well as the wonderful yearly events - like the Sheep To Shawl contest. This year these 'teachings' were coordinated by guild member Jo Critchlow -an energetic wonder woman who routinely makes 20 pairs of socks a year. Jo says she makes one pair of socks a week - and she uses leftover sock yarn to make the most wonderful baby sweaters ! Jo did an amazing job and packed the days with so many fun things! One workshop that I missed during this year was about dyeing with fermented persimmons so I was especially pleased to find that the teacher, Chris Conrad, was going to be doing a mini work shop at the fair ! The technique is called Kakishibui & I had a great time tying various objects into this silk scarf. If I do this process again, I think I would prefer to sew the fabric - more like a sh1bori. Once dry there are several ways to darken the pattern & soften the fabric. I used a tablespoon of baking soda in clear water to darken the original color. I am planning to screen some other design elements and colors onto this scarf - hopefully later today. Chris Conrad is an excellent teacher - and I am still sorry that I missed her full workshop. She also adds indigo dye to her work -what a fabulous combination! She donated her time to the Guild for this event - which I think is amazing. If your group is looking for a fascinating class - contact Chris- you won't regret it !

Some of you will remember that I have a fascination for making small baskets. I gave a mini workshop for the Guild this year & several of the folks who attended just took off and make lots & lots of theses gems themselves. Every year the Guild makes something special to give to "fluffy ribbon" winners. Susan Rosenberg, our fearless (and by now extremely exhausted Superintendent) made scads of these little wonders - and I am the proud new owner of the two shown here. It was SO darn much fun to see what other people do with a technique - and makes me begin to understand the fun of teaching. Thank you Susan, for your encouragement & for all of the hard work you put into making the Fair such a huge success - you're quite amazing !

Every year I get one or two baskets. It's the first place I visit. This is the small basket I got this year to hold my most frequently used beading supplies - and beads for the current project. Love the orange! It was really a wonderful fair. I even managed to get another set of holes in my ears (by a local, well known provider - fear not about cleanliness!) - which had been on my list of things "to do" for awhile. The weather was very HOT this year - and dry too (which is a good thing for the Fair!). Heat really does me in though. Friday night I came home, took a shower & lay down for what I thought would be a quick nap. I woke up two hours later at 6:15pm. Fell asleep again at 8:30 pm & slept through until 9 am Saturday. Unbelievable! I was so pleased that I took the time this year to enjoy some of the fun that the Fair - and our Guild - had to offer.

Another of the mini workshops that was offered was basket making. It was supposed to be for kids - but I figure that might well describe my mind set - and it appeared that I was is very good "adult kid" company! I can easily see how basket making could become a serious addiction. I have some photographs for another post of some of the fabulous baskets that were ribbon winners.

A Touch of Heaven In The Mail

Saturday's mail brought a most unexpected surprise from Vicki. WoW! What a surprise! I thought that she might send me ONE piece of her hand dyed fabric (and a small piece at that!).
What I found, however, was an absolute treasure trove! The photo above is of a glorious piece of hand dyed fabric & metallics - and it is awesome. The photo below is of the rainbow of my favorite warm colors that she sent. Beautifully done. Heaven!

She also added some fun bits of yarn (each nestled in it's own plastic bag) & a tube of beads which are already destined for my 'tree' piece. How could she know?!

As if all of this wasn't WAY more than enough Vicki also enclosed some of her incredible hand made soap for sensitive skin. I am a shea butter fan - so I have opened that one first - and it really is wonderful for those of us whose skin can have problems tolerating the additives and perfumes in most soap these days.

Last, but not least, this card was enclosed. Vicki could not have known that Charles Wysocki is one of my favorite artists - but this must surely be the proof that she is psychic! I am so very grateful for my friends - both local and cyber. I am, truly, blessed. My friends are my teachers - their lessons are about the meaning of friendship & good will. Thank You Vicki for sharing so freely - your blog cheers my day and you generous gift will be used well - and creatively I hope!