A TECHNIQUE DRIVEN Blog dedicated to mastery of surface design techniques. First we dye, overdye, paint, stitch, resist, tie, fold, silk screen, stamp, thermofax, batik, bejewel, stretch, shrink, sprinkle, Smooch, fuse, slice, dice, AND then we set it on fire using a variety of heat tools.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Round Robin #2 - Laura

As fabric creators, do you think there is ever a time when we feel that the fabric is finally "Done"?  I had a piece of snow-dyed fabric that I thought needed a little more, so I mixed up some sodium alginate and water, to make a dye thickener.  Directions for this can be found on Dharma's website, if you want to try it.

Then I added some plum colored dye powder to it, and also a teaspoon or so of soda ash, to activate the dye.  You could also soak your fabric in a soda ash/water solution, and let it dry, then apply your thickened dye without the soda ash addition to it.  This option lets you work slower -- because the way I did it, once the dye is activated, you have to use it fairly quickly.

I made my own silk screens using plain wooden frames, polyester curtain fabric, a staple gun and some duct tape.  They're really easy to make, and last a long time.  (I had already painted a grid pattern on this one at some time in the past, I can't remember exactly, but I think it was done with mod podge).

Just plop some of the thickened dye paste on the screen along the top, and pull with a squeegee or credit card. 

Leslie Morgan and Claire Benn have some great youtube videos on screenprinting, I think that's what got me interested in trying this out a few years ago.

Just keep making prints across your fabric, it's really quick.

Here it is all done, before washing.
Monday I'll show you my next step!

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