One more time-redye!

The silk came out nicely but there was too much white left undyed on either side. I decided to dye it again. Here it is laid out in the bathtub with dyes applied.
I only applied a small amount of dye this time- probably 1/4 of what was used in the first round

Finished, the interplay of colors is smashing.



Here's a detail of the subtle colors on this silk.
Next step is to do the same thing on a much larger scale. I will have to rig up a sheet of plastic outside on the ground as the tub won't hold the length of silk I want to use. Stay tuned.

Wicking on Silk, Dyeing Silk, Manipulating Dye on Silk- it's all good.

Hi and happy New Year. About time I blogged something, eh? I apologize for not being around but I was down with a rip roaring sinus infection. Way better now.

The neighbor's dog woke us all up at 5:55 a.m. I am not a violent person but that whole situation makes me want to take a baseball bat like the one next to the front door and...but... I digress.

The only good thing about being awake at that time of the NIGHT is that I had a bit of alone time to think through another way to manipulate the dyes on silk. Here's what I decided to try today:

First I propped a piece of crepe backed silk satin that is about 45" wide by maybe the same length in the bathtub.

Next step was to mix a nice deep red. I decided NOT to mix it OR even to filter it. I was going to throw all caution to the wind, or to God, or to the dog next door; whoever had the most power to make chaos cease in my life.

Then I poured on blue. Unmixed. Bits of powdered dye slogged onto the top and began its journey southward.

Then I poured Turquoise next to the blue. In my other wicking and dyeing adventures, I have enjoyed seeing what Turquoise does. It's got a mind of its own.

Lastly, I poured unmixed yellow on the far end and let it also have its way.

By now the dyes are mixing and pooling at the bottom of the cloth. Shall I plug up the drain and save it or let it go? Let it go.

One last thing I did was to scrunch over the open portion of the red that you can see on the left hand side. I wanted it to get some dye action.

Now I leave it for about 6-8 hours. Hopefully no one will want to take a shower between now and then.

The temptation is to poke and pick a bit here and there but for this particular piece, I am done with it and am too tired to work further on it. I also have three orders for fabric waiting so need to get busy on something that pays the bills.

Here's to 2011. May you dye hard and dye strong.