Colorful Weekend

I spent quite a bit of time this weekend dyeing fabric. After ordering a new supply of Procion Fiber Reactive Dyes from Dharma, I had to try them out. I've been using these dyes for 10 years, but ordered some different colors than what I had been using. This piece is a combination of Turquoise, Fire Red, and Bright Yellow. I fan folded the fabric, doubled it up and laid it in a plastic container. Then I poured on the dyes and let the fabric cure for 48 hours before washing it out.


This piece was dyed the same way using Turquoise, Fire Red and Deep Purple.


Another fan folded dyed fabric. This one has Bright Yellow, Turquoise, and Forest Green.


This is a scrunched piece. I stuffed the piece of fabric into a small jar and poured Forest Green over the top and let it soak through the fabric.


This photo shows my fabrics in their various containers while they cure. I have the dyes mixed and poured into water bottles. The water bottles don't drip like other bottles made for squirting dyes onto fabrics, but I still have trouble getting the dyes to go where I want them to go. I'm still searching for the perfect squirt bottle!

Comments

Karen S said…
Your hand-dyes are beautiful!
July 12, 2010 at 4:57 PM
Susan Loftin said…
Thanks Karen. I love dyeing fabric.
July 12, 2010 at 7:19 PM
Tennye said…
Wow what incredible fabrics, if I ever get completely caught up I want to try that.
July 16, 2010 at 5:11 PM
Tennye said…
Wow, that is incredible, you have made some beautiful fabric. When I finally get completely caught up I want to try that. How will you use them?
July 16, 2010 at 5:12 PM
Susan Loftin said…
Thanks Tennye. I'm not sure how I'll use them yet. They mostly show up in my landscape quilts but I have used them for pieced quilts, too.
July 17, 2010 at 8:09 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Log Cabin

Image
I don't know the title of this quilt, but it is a Log Cabin Variation that I just completed for a customer. I love the soft blues and browns in this quilt.  It just begged for feathers. See what I mean? I did add a few leaves in the small border, though.
Read more

Zipper Leader Tutorial - Part 1

Image
I removed my old zippers yesterday and completed attaching my new zippers. Along the way I made 2 additional sets of zipper leaders so I have the ability to have 3 quilts ready to zip on if I need to. As promised, I took photos of the steps and will post them in stages. These directions are my own and you may be able to find other instructions out the internet. This is something I came up with on trial and error. The first set of zipper leaders I made were with garment zipper that you buy by the yard at a fabric store. They didn't work out the way I wanted. They kept separating on their own. So now I have 8 yards of zipper to use in other projects. First off you'll need some materials and supplies. 1. Canvas Duck - I purchased 4 yards of 60" wide canvas so I wouldn't have to seam the leaders. This is enough to make 5 sets of 2 leaders. Buy the length to match the length of your zippers. 2. Separating Zippers in the size of your choice - I purchased 144" long zippe
Read more

First Things First

Image
Here is the first step in remodeling my quilting studio. We bought a folding table and a student chair on wheels so I now have a place for my sewing machine! I'm so excited. No more running up and down the stairs to sew, press, quilt, etc. Everything can now be done in the studio. My youngest can also play with her playdough on the table instead of on the cloth cover of my ironing board :o Of course I still don't have finished walls, but I can work in comfort all in one room until we get to that point. My DH and I priced drywall and other options for the walls this afternoon. Drywall is still our number 1 choice at this moment, but I wanted to see if we could find something that I could handle by myself and yet still be cost effective. Drywall sheets are too heavy for me to lift on my own and hang on the walls. Hubby's job is too hectic these days for him to take any time off to hang drywall and I'm getting anxious to complete the studio, so I thought we should try to f
Read more