Chapter Six - Cold Water Dyes & Fabric Paints

CHAPTER 6

PATTERNING OF FABRICS USING COLD WATER DYES AND FABRIC PAINTS 

Firstly I collected fabrics in the black and white theme.

Shibori Dyeing 

Next up was Shibori Methods…..I was very nervous about this. I think it was the fact I needed to put pure white fabric into to black dye. 

However before I made a start I needed to find out about the techniques. My friend Google helped me out…..

Kanoko Shibori

Also meaning tie-dye. Tightly bound cloth determines what pattern is achieved. Circles can be achieved using this method.

Miura Shibori

Also known as loop binding. Plucking sections of cloth with needle and thread. The threads are not knotted as the tension holds it together.
Kumo Shibori

Is pleated and bound resist. Pleating cloth finely and evenly.

Nui Shibori

Using a simple running stitch then pulled tight to gather. Threads are secured by knotting.

Arashi Shibori

Also known as pole wrapping. Fabric is wrapped diagonally around a pole and scrunched up.

After this I relaxed a little more and made a start.

For this task I used lots of white fabric. I used Dylon Black Velet cold water dye and a a mixture of washing soda and salt to use as a fixative. 

A - Plain white cotton - Left to soak over night

B - Fabric Twisted and wrapped around a tube then tied with string - Dabbed with ink

C - Wooden block with fabric folded and cover around it - Dunked into dye.

D - Gathered with a running stitch - Dunked into dye

E - Twisted fabric and string tied in various places - dabbed with dye

F - Fabrics with pebbles held in with elastic bands - dabbed with dye

G - Gathered fabric using elastic bands - dabbed with dye

H - Fabric rolled into a ball and secured with elastic bands - dunked in to dye

I - fabric folded back and forth with lollipop sticks in-between as a resistant - dunked in to ink

J - fabric rolled and secure with elastic bands - dabbed with dye

K - Fabric folded into triangle and a tin lid held in place with bulldog clips - dunked into dye

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

My results seemed better when I dabbed the dye on to the samples, I had more control over the end result. I was looking forward to seeing the sample with the lollipop sticks however the dyes took over. In future I would like to try this again and use a different dye. However I have loads of fabric sample to use doing this technique.

Mono printing Samples

Again using white cotton fabric using acrylic paint and textile medium.

Using a polystyrene cup to print

Same design as above - 2nd print

Design using jute

Design drawn in using blunt pencil 

 I then had another what if moment and decided to use black fabric and bleach. I liked this method in the previous task so I thought I'd give it a go.

Sponge bleach over jute

printing with bleach using card

Printing using polystyrene cup and card

Mottled effect - printing with a dishcloth

Health and Safety

Through out all this chapter I did take precautions especially when it came to covering work surfaces to do dyes, paints and bleach and wore latex gloves. For the shibori technique I actually dyed everything outside so i could hang it to dry right away. When using the bleach I worked in a well ventilated area because of the fumes.

Evaluation 

Again this chapter has been really intriguing and thought provoking.

Shibori - New technique I've learnt . Ive enjoyed experimenting after I got over the initial concerns and being nervous. Learning about the  technique certainly helped. Not all experiments worked but I've learnt that dunking the parcels in the dye does not give the most satisfying results.

Mono printing - More comfortable with this probably because of printing the paper samples first. My favourite prints are the jute because of the amazing texture effect it creates and also the second print.

Additional samples -  The bleach samples. Like in the previous chapters I like to see the white effect and black too to get a feel of differences.
So I opted for for bleach and black fabric. I love this technique. When you print it takes a while to see what you've actually created. Again the jute sample is my favourite….I love the look of the scales in places. Really pleased with the results.

Costs - White cotton - £12.00

            Dye and fixative supplies - £3.00

           

Total          £15.00

Time Spent - 29 hours