Dyeing Fabric en plein air

Last Saturday, Barbra and I had a couple of hours of "nothing-to-do"... In the spring? How is that possible, you ask? With all those gardening chores awaiting? The cleaning of the windows? Well, I ask too. And then I do a classic Gallic shrug.

My excuse? The weather was just right and I needed to test my Procion dyes, to see if they still had any life in them, after 5+ years of storage in two basements. I had read reports of dyes being unusable after a year, but before throwing all my dyes out, I wanted to check.

Above: Plein air fabric dyeing workshop... the set-up. Basic, but not too shabby!

So we set up our dyeing table in the grass, in front of the house. The tilt of the table proved useful in directing spills over the edge... The big black thing is Finn-the-assistant. He supervised our activities throughout the session, from under the table... in the shade.

Above: First batch of half-yards in baggies: lemon yellow to fuchsia gradation

For Barbra, this was a first-time experience. So we used Adrienne Buffington's Hand-Dyed Fabric Made Easy, an excellent and simple how-to book. Every time I've used that book as a reference, I've been pleased with the results. It can be ordered from G&S Dyes in Canada, or Amazon.com in the US.

Above: Batch #3, earthy gradation of Golden yellow to Intense blue. I was in search of earthy browns and a certain russet...

All told, we did three colour gradations and then we decided to use up some of the prepared dye on a "pour and roll" technique someone had described to me... a long time ago. We improvised and we had fun.

Above: Two of the gradations, rinsed out after 2 hours in the sun, in baggies. The smallest container holds the "rag" we used to mop up spills. It looks brown, but don't be fooled, it's a beauty! In the background: Barbra's pour-and-roll yardage, curing in the large container.

We used a cotton sateen that I'd co-purchased with my friend Kit Vincent, back at Quilting-by-the-Lake in... oh... 2004? My goodness, how time flies! Anyway, while we were in the US, Kit and I bought an 80-yard bolt of sateen from Test Fabrics. It has a lovely sheen, and takes the dye beautifully.

Above: A close-up of Barbra's pour-and-roll... curing in the sun.

We allowed about 1.5 hours to 2 hours per batch in baggies, in the sun. When it was time to rinse and we picked up the baggies, they were noticeably warm. You could say the sun cooked them just right.

Above: The next day, after washing and ironing, here are the beauties, and their "cousins", the experiments to check the potency of other dyes, namely indigo and dark cherry.

From experience, I can tell that the turquoise and the fuchsia are somewhat weaker than they used to be. Also, we used Arm & Hammer Washing Soda instead of the usual soda ash solution, because we live on an island with a small general store... and did I mention we improvise? Although we doubled the quantity of soda fixative, the fact that laundry soda probably has surfactants and other such added in may have affected the intensity of the dyes. I'm not sure. I'll have to repeat the experience "by the book". Ahem.

The three fabrics on the left are experiments with indigo and golden yellow. I am in search of a dark rich earthy green. Quasi-bronze. Luckily, the indigo is still fairly potent.

Above: Barbra's pour-and-roll star on the left, and the spill-absorbing half-yard on the right.

Above: Close-up of my pour-and-roll yardage. Love the way the dark veins travel into the turquoise and yellow-turned green...

Even though the garden was unattended, the windows are still questionable, and the vacuuming... well, the vacuuming is on hold... we did not waste our time. We created some lovely and lively yardage, and I have to finish those containers of mixed dyes that are sitting in my cold room. Guess what I'm going to be doing this afternoon?