Mandala Dyeing 2

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Mandala, Soda Ash dyeing

My fourth attempt:

 

  • Combed cotton 22″ x 22″.
  • Fold and iron fabric.
  • Soak in warmed soda ash solution for 30 minutes.
  • Place in tray over bucket.
  • Place 8 cups of fresh snow over the fabric.
  • Mix dye with snow. Orange, Mixing Red and Royal Blue  1/2 teaspoon of each dye mixed with 8 cups of snow and packed over the fabric.
  • Place lid over the bucket and allow to sit at room temperature.
  • After 24 hours, rinse fabric in cold water.
  • Wash in hot water with blue Dawn soap.
  • Rinse, dry and iron.
Lessons learned:
  • colors are brighter, but still too much white, 
Things yet to learn
  • The amount of dye needed to migrate through the full thickness of the folded fabric.
  • The impact of clamping the fabric. 

My fifth attempt:

  • Combed cotton fabric 12″ x 18″ folded accordion style into eight sections, then fold in half or in thirds lengthwise.  Clamp one with large forceps.
  • Fold and iron fabric.
  • Soak fabric in warmed soda ash solution for 30 minutes.
  • Place fabric in tray over bucket.
  • Mix dye with snow: Golden Yellow, Mixing Red and Royal Blue (3/4 teaspoon of each dye mixed with 8 cups of snow) and packed over the fabric.
  • Place lid over the bucket and allow to sit at room temperature.
  • After 24 hours, rinse fabric in cold water.
  • Wash in hot water with blue Dawn soap.
  • Rinse, dry and iron.
    • Lessons learned:
  • colors are very bright and reached through 24 layers of fabric.
  • some undissolved dye particles made spotty marks on the first layer of fabric that the dye penetrated.
  • clamping was effective to give some controlled areas of blocked dye penetration.
After several additional trials, I have learned that I can selectively control the intensity of the resulting color by placing varied amounts of fresh snow (no dye added) over the fabric before packing the dye mixed snow.

My final attempts: 

  • Combed cotton fabric 22″ x 22″.
  • Fold and iron fabric.
  • Soak fabric in warmed soda ash solution for 30 minutes.
  • Place fabric in tray over bucket.
  • Cover with scrap fabric to collect undissolved dye particles.
  • Mix 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon of dye powder with varied amounts of snow.
  • Pack fresh snow and snow-dye mixture over the fabric with varied positions
  • Place lid over the bucket and allow to sit at room temperature.
  • After 24 hours, rinse fabric in cold water.
  • Wash in hot water with blue Dawn soap.
  • Rinse, dry and iron.

Really happy with these!!

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