Experimenting with Sun Resist Dyeing

On August 3, 2020October 14, 2023 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Dye Resist, Fabric Dyeing, Low water immersion dyeing, Soda Ash dyeingLeave a comment

When writing about my latest Shibori project, I alluded to some sun dyeing I had attempted. After that first attempt, I decided to do some experimenting to determine the best protocol to use for sun resist dyeing.

The idea behind sun resist dyeing is that objects placed on the wet soy-treated fabric will block the suns rays from activating the soy binding of the dye to the fabric.

Having read several different articles about dyeing with soymilk, I first wanted to compare the different ways of prepping the fabric and dyeing the fabric. Some textile artists use just soy milk, some use powder from soybeans and other use soda ash as a pretreatment. So I set up to test several different combinations of pretreatment and dyeing.

For pretreatment, I used used three old pieces of partially dyed fabric (browns and khaki dyes). Each piece was pretreated with either soy milk (1 cup diluted with 3 cups water), soy powder (1/4 cup powder diluted with 4 cups hot water), or soda ash (4 tsp each of soda ash and salt, diluted in 4 cups hot water).

Based upon these test samples, pretreatment of the fabric with soy powder did not result in very strong binding of the blue dye to the fabric. Furthermore, mixing the dye with soy powder did not result in any binding of the blue dye to the fabric. Pretreatment with either soy milk or soda ash was successful in dye binding. However, only the mixing the dye with soy milk cause the sun resist to be visible.

I did a second round of experimenting to verify my findings. In this experiment, the fabric was pretreated with soy milk (left side) or soda ash (right side) and dyed with three different colors of dye (Golden Yellow, Fuschia and Mixing Red) mixed with soymilk.

Wet dye painted, leaves placed to block sun.

I love the results! I can’t wait to do more sun resist dyeing.

Small Shibori Quilt

On July 28, 2020October 14, 2023 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Dye Resist, Fabric Dyeing, Flowers, Low water immersion dyeing, Quilting, Shibori1 Comment

I originally published this post on Sunday. However, for some reason the article disappeared from my blog. I know it was originally there, but someone asked about why I took it down. When I went to check, it was gone. Luckily, I had saved a copy on my computer so I am able to repost today.

For those who already read this article, I apologize for your having to receive it twice. For those who did not receive the original, please enjoy.

Pam

Nui Shibori Table Quilt

On September 3, 2019 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Dye Resist, Fabric Dyeing, Flowers, Gradation Dyeing, Low water immersion dyeing, Minnesota State Fair, Quilting, Shibori, Soda Ash dyeing1 Comment

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

Dark Pink = ¼ tsp Mixing Red
Light Pink = 1/16 tsp Mixing Red
Dark Blue = ¼ tsp Mixing Blue
Light Blue = 1/16 tsp Mixing Blue
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:

Mixed Alkali: ½ tsp mixed with 8 ml Urea water
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
Green: 1/8 tsp Evergreen in 15 ml Urea Water. Combine 7.5 ml concentrate with 15 ml PP and 1.5 ml MA
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
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!

Dyed Fabric Strip Quilt

On July 31, 2019 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Fabric Dyeing, Gradation Dyeing, Low water immersion dyeing, Quilting, Scrap Quilt, Soda Ash dyeing2 Comments

One of my original posts on this blog was about fabric dyeing (Sept 22, 2015). At that time, I mentioned that I had watched a Craftsy class about dyeing fabric. Before jumping in and buying numerous colors of dye and supplies, I decided to try a sample kit.

The purchased a gradation dyeing kit which was a smart decision. This kit gave me the opportunity to try my hand at mixing dyes to get different colors, as well as working with low volumes and how to best handle the fabrics.

The first color kit I purchased was “STONES & SHELLS”.

Colors included were: Camel 5181, Old Rose 5220 & Stormy Grey 6160

Following the directions, I created thirty fat eights in a gradation of earth tones. While the samples were fun to make, I had no idea what to use them for. So, these pieces of fabric have been sitting on my shelf waiting for some inspiration. Earlier this year when I was doing some strip quilting, I decided that a strip quilt might be a good use of these fabric as well.

To add some pops of color, I dyed three fat quarters of cotton fabric using a variety of techniques – marbling, sun dyeing and batch dyeing. For the sides and the backing, I dyed a three yard piece of 108″ wide cotton with a evergreen dye.

The gradation fabrics were cut into 2.5″ x 20″ strips. These were then sorted by color and then The green pops of color were cut into 2 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ pieces. The strips were then sewn together with dark green on each side. After sorting the gradation fabrics, I split them into three groups and pieced starting with the first color of each group. This allowed for the fabrics to be distinct rather than blending from one gradient to the next.

The quilt top was then put together using my long-arm machine just like a did with the black strip quilt earlier this year (May 8, 2019).

Another fun quilt to donate. And, more fabric used from my stash!

Shibori Quilt

On May 26, 2019 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Dye Resist, Fabric Dyeing, Low water immersion dyeing, Quilting, ShiboriLeave a comment

Sometimes, when working on a quilt, parts of the original design are adjusted and changed as I proceed with the project. This was the case when I was making the large butterfly quilt that I described in August 2016 posts.

Early in the design process, I had thought that a rainbow shibori border would look nice. To create the border, I made four 9″ x 90″ shibori panels with red, blue and yellow dye. These panels turned out lovely.

The next step was to dye the fabric that the butterflies would be appliqued onto. When planning out this step, I changed my mind about the border and decided that I wanted the butterflies to be in a more “natural” environment. So, I made four more panels of shibori that looked like grass. This change was perfect for the quilt at that time.

However, I had the rainbow shibori panels already dyed. Not knowing what I wanted to use them for, I just stored them in my fabric stash and didn’t really think about them for a few years.

Recently, when organizing my fabric, I ran across these panels and decided I really needed to use these in a quilt. Utilizing a simple triangle quilt design, I combined the shibori fabric with a black fabric. This was a quick project that turned out really nice. I love the optical illusion that the dyed fabric creates.

Ombre Dyed Sheers

On August 4, 2016September 10, 2017 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Fabric Dyeing, Gradation Dyeing, Low water immersion dyeingLeave a comment

My eldest son lives in San Francisco and recently moved into a new apartment. His room is quite large and has a beautiful bay window where he has his desk situated. He enjoys this desk placement with lots of sunlight flooding him when he is working and a nice view out the window.

At certain times of the day, the sun shines directly into his eyes, making working at his computer a bit difficult. He attempted to remedy this problem by putting up some sheers that would block the sun, but still allow some light into the room.

Unfortunately, the sun was still too bright in the late afternoon. So, when the sheers did not solve his problem, he sought another solution. His idea was to find some Ombre dyed sheers that were dark grey on the top and transitioning to white on the bottom.

Due to the size of the window, the only ones that he could find were nearly $600. Before he purchased these, he sent me a message to seek my advice about whether this was a good idea. Having recently tried out ombre dyeing of scarves, I thought that the price might be a bit high and offered to make some sheers for him.

Supplies:

Mid-weight Linen (Dharma Trading) 54” wide, 5.1 oz per yard

Wooden dowel, 5 ft length

Support rods – I used two camera tripods with a board attached to the top.

Dye – Black Silk, Jet Black

Unsoftened water, 12 gallons

Soda Ash, Salt

Retayne

Dye Vat:

2 x 6 Cedar, 48” x 2

2 x 6 Cedar, 12” x 2 – screw to ends of 48”

Heavy duty plastic stapled to wood to create dye vat 48” x 9″

Trial Day One:

Cut fabric to 90” length

Sew 1” doubled rod sleeve at one end

Pin opposite end to wooden dowel, roll up extra fabric (cover extra fabric with plastic bag to keep dye from splattering on white end of fabric)

Mark fabric with pin at 8” and then every 4” up to 48” from rod sleeve

Set up tripods at 6 feet height with board attached

Fill dye vat with 4 gallons hot soda ash solution
Add Black Silk dye (250 mg/ml concentrate) – 1,1,2,4,4,8,8,10,10,20,20 ml

Dip fabric to farthest pin, hang and move out of the way

Add next dye quantity (see above) and repeat until all dye has been added

Hang to dry and batch for 2 hours

Wash with Blue Dawn in hot water

Lesson learned – Black silk dye on linen washes out to a blueish color

Trial Day Two:

Question – does a mixed of two different black dyes keep the gray color better?
Followed the same technique as above, but mixed two different black dyes
Black Silk (250 mg/ml concentrate) – 50 ml, mixed with
Jet Black (250 mg/ml concentrate) – 50 ml
Add dye (250 mg/ml concentrate) – 1,1,2,4,4,8,8,10,10,20,20 ml

Wash with Blue Dawn in hot water

Lesson learned – when working outdoors, monitor the wind to make sure that the fabric does not blow down and land on the dirty driveway, and Jet Black dye leaves a reddish tint to the un-dyed fabric.

Trial Day Three:
Question – does spraying the dye on work better? does washing in cold water keep the color from fading
Pin white end of fabric to clothes line

Mark fabric with pin at 8” then at 4” intervals up to 48” from rod sleeve

Spray fabric with hot soda ash solution to saturate bottom 48” of hanging fabric

Dilute 7.5 mg Black Silk dye in 1000ml SA solution

Spray 200ml on bottom 8”

Add 200 ml SA and spray next 4”

Repeat and continue up to 48”

Let batch for 2 hours

Wash with Blue Dawn in cold water

Lesson learned – spraying caused distinct lines to be visible on the fabric, but the cold water did help slightly.

Trial Day Four:

Question – does Retayne help set the gray color better?
Follow the same technique as Day One
Batch for two hours

Dilute 1 T Retayne in 1 gallon hot water, dip the dyed fabric for 5 minutes
Hang and allow to set for 20 minutes

Wash with Blue Dawn in cold water

Lesson learned – this is the center panel in the photo above and was by far the best result!!

Scarves

On June 2, 2016September 10, 2017 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Dye Resist, Fabric Dyeing, Holidays, Low water immersion dyeing, Scarf, Soda Ash dyeingLeave a comment

Having giving away most of my scarves, a friend asked me to show all of my dyed scarves in one posting. So, here they are:

Color Magnet

On May 6, 2016September 10, 2017 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Dye Resist, Fabric Dyeing, Gradation Dyeing, Low water immersion dyeing, ScarfLeave a comment

This stuff is amazing! That’s how the description of the Jacquard Color Magnet starts on the Dharma Trading website. After reading that, I was intrigue and wanted to find out more .

Color magnet is a dye attractant that magically attracts more dye where it is applied, creating a unique, two-toned effect. The more dilute the dye, the greater the contrast of color. The color magnet has no binder, so it washes out completely after dyeing, leaving your fabric nicely colored but unchanged in how the fabric feels. The color magnet comes in two forms. A roller ball pen form that can be used for drawing or stenciling detail. And a one pound container that can be used for screen printing, painting or stenciling larger areas.

Fabric recently splattered with Color Magnet

My first attempt:

Combed cotton fabric 12″ x 12″.
Splatter the color magnet across the fabric
Dry overnight.
Soak in Golden Yellow dye (200 milliliters, 0.5 mg/ml) for 24 hours.
Rinse, wash with Blue Dawn and dry.

Fabric after dyeing with Golden Yellow

My second attempt:

Combed cotton fabric 6″ x 18″.
Tape stencil and paint Color Magnet using roller pen
Dry overnight.
Spray with dye (Golden Yellow, Mixing Red and Turquoise, 50 milliliters each at 0.5 mg/ml
Cover with plastic and allow to batch for 24 hours.
Rinse, wash with Blue Dawn and dry.

My latest endeavors:

Rayon gauze 12″ x 90″.
Tape stencil and paint Color Magnet using roller pen
Dry overnight.
Dip in dye (Lilac)
Cover with plastic and allow to batch for 24 hours.
Rinse, wash with Blue Dawn and dry.

Dyeing Silk Fabric

On October 27, 2015October 21, 2016 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Fabric Dyeing, Gradation Dyeing, Low water immersion dyeing, Silk dyeing, Soda Ash dyeing, Vinegar dyeing1 Comment

Silk — elegant, versatile and washable. Yes, washable! Sewing and dyeing silk was something I wanted to try.
Silk is a natural protein fiber (like wool) that is taken from the cocoon of the silkworm. Most animal protein fibers require acidic dyes which are different than the alkaline dyes that plant fibers like cotton require. However, silk is less sensitive to high pH than other animal fibers, which makes it the most versatile of all fibers for dyeing.
Silk can be dyed with acid dyes (specifically made for animal fibers), but it can also be dyed with fiber reactive dyes (such as Procion dyes).
Looking over the many approaches for dyeing silk, I decided I did not want to invest in yet another set of dye powders. So, I looked for directions that used the Procion MX dyes I already had. I found two different dyeing methods to try.

Soda Ash Dyeing

Similar to dyeing cotton, silk can be dyed using the soda ash method. With this method, the soda ash acts as a mordant to bind the dye to the fabric. The only drawback to this method is that the soda ash is alkaline and thus will make the silk slightly less shiny and not as crisp. While others may find the loss of the crisp silk texture a disadvantage, I actually prefer softer fabrics for making quilts, garments and other household items.
Steps:
1) Soda Ash Solution – 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon soda ash in one cup distilled water.
2) Make Dye solution by diluting 100 mg of powdered dye in 50 ml Soda Ash Solution. Mix well.
3) Add 5″ x 5″ fabric square.
4) Cover and store at RT for 3 hours.
5) Rinse, wash with Blue Dawn and dry.

Vinegar Dyeing

To avoid the loss of shine, fabric can be exposed to an alkaline solution for only a short period of time. Thus to dye the fabric, an acidic dye solution is needed. Vinegar contains 5% acetic acid and as an acid it will bind the dye to the fabric. But, to lock the dye, the fabric requires heat.
Steps:
1) Soak 5″ x 5″ fabric square in Distilled White Vinegar for 10 minutes.
2) Make Dye solution by diluting 100 mg of powdered dye in 50 ml Vinegar. Mix well.
3) Place fabric and dye in microwave safe container and cover with plastic wrap.
Note: do not use dyeing containers for food preparation
4) Microwave for 30 seconds, wait two minutes, and microwave 30 seconds again.
5) Cool for 5 minutes.
6) Rinse, wash with Blue Dawn and dry.

Gradation Dyeing

I liked this second method – its fast and creates beautiful colors. Here are the samples created using 2 mg/ml and 0.2 mg/ml dye solutions.

Now I need to figure out what to make with these truly beautiful pieces of silk fabric I have dyed!

Vinegar Dyeing of Cotton?

I liked the vinegar method for dyeing silk because it was really fast. So, if it works for silk – will it work for cotton? Sadly, the answer is No. The results show that the dye intensity is only about 10 percent of the intensity created with the soda ash solution. This should not have surprised me since cotton is a plant fiber not a protein fiber. But, it was worth a try.

Fabric Dyeing

On September 22, 2015October 21, 2016 By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Fabric Dyeing, Gradation Dyeing, Low water immersion dyeing, Soda Ash dyeing3 Comments

I love fabrics, especially unique, one of the kind fabrics. So, about a year ago, I took a class on Craftsy called “The Art of Cloth Dyeing” with Jane Dunnewold. I was fascinated, purchased a sample kit and gave it a try. I was hooked! I loved the results and decided to do more.

Traditional fabric dyeing, which uses a large volume of water and lots of stirring, creates a smooth uniform appearance to the fabric. If multiple colors are used together, the dyes mix and become “muddy”.

I prefer the results obtained with low water immersion dyeing. This technique requires less time and uses as little water as possible. Since the fabric is not stirred, the appearance is less uniform, with a resulting scrunch or crackle effect.

Supplies Needed:

100% Cotton Fabric

Procion MX dye

Soda Ash (sodium carbonate, dye fixer)

Salt

Non-softened water (or Distilled water)

Mask

Gloves

Measuring cup and spoons

Assorted containers (plastic, glass, or stainless steel, not aluminum or iron)

Blue Dawn dish soap

Instructions

Fabric can be purchased as PFD – prepared for dyeing. Alternatively, white cotton fabric can be washed in soda ash to remove any chemicals from the manufacturing process. Pro Chemical Company and Dharma Trading Company carry a variety of fabrics that work well for dyeing and quilting. I have found that Quilter’s Cotton Sateen dyes well and has a softer feel than some of the other fabrics. For creating my test swatches, I cut 6” x 6” squares that were placed in disposable plastic cups.

I purchased my original dyes from Pro Chem. The dye solution is made by adding 1 tsp soda ash and 1 tsp salt to 1 cup water and heating for 2 minutes in the microwave (to 110 degrees). From my most recent experiences, sea salt creates more vivid color than normal table salt.

Using a mask and gloves, the amount of dye to be added to the water is measured. Be aware that soda ash is a color fixative. So, do not dissolve the dye powder in the dye solution until you are ready to use it. Pro Chem lists their dyes by the number of teaspoons per pound of fabric. For more flexibility and greater accuracy, I set out to determine the number of milligrams of dye needed per milliliter of dye solution. Below is a photo of my intensity dyeing.

Each swatch was soaked (“batched”) in 50 milliliters of dye solution for 24 hours. The excess dye was removed by rinsing in cool water, followed by washing in hot water. Dyeing instructions suggest using a detergent called Synthrapol in the wash cycle to remove any unattached dye from the fabric. Blue Dawn dish soap works just as well, is easier to obtain, and costs less.

I have small metric scale and graduated cylinder for greater accuracy in setting up these dyeing experiments. If you do not have a metric scale, I can give you some guidelines. I cup is a bit more that 200 milliliters. And, 1 teaspoon of dye weighs approximately 200 milligrams. So, for the fabric swatch that was soaked in 5 mg/ml, you can dissolve 1¼ teaspoon of dye powder in ¼ cup dye solution and the results should be similar.

The cost of the supplies can really add up. Pro Chem carries over 135 different colors of dye. I originally only purchased a few dyes (two reds, two yellows and two blues) and created my own recipes for the other colors I wanted. Below are the photos of my gradation dyeing experiments using 2mg/ml of dye and 0.1 mg/ml of dye. I now have the recipe to create a wide variety of colors.

To be able to refer to these “recipes” for future projects, fabric swatch pages were made by neatly mounting a 2”x4” piece of each color to a piece of poster board and storing them in a notebook. What to do with the left over fabric? Make a quilt! Below is the quilt I made from the fabric that was not used in my swatch book.