Fundamentals of Fibre Reactive Dyes

Plans & Projects

When dyeing all the fabric this month, I did have plans. Sometimes projects don’t turn out and I need to pivot. This can be sad and sometimes an unexpected delight. When making by hand, I have to stay flexible.

I always try to have a plan before I start as I don’t want to craft or dye just for the sake of making. True, I believe in sampling and not everything needs to be something. That is how I play and learn. But I always try to use the item for something after the fact. Doesn’t always work but I try.

Now that I am done dyeing, I am reflecting on the initial plans and where I need to pivot. For this month of dyeing, I have already made two dresses which was the plan. The third dress will now be a quilted jacket, this is a pivot in the project and in how I dyed it. The canvas was gonna grow up to be a backpack for an upcoming trip but since that trip is days away, that won’t happen. But it still may be a backpack, I am unsure now, I have to think about it. The cotton muslin will be for embroidery (along with any scraps from all mentioned projects).

This will keep me busy (on top of all the other crafting I do lol). I think next summer I will focus on wool and yarn dyeing. But as always, plans can change, we will see!

Pictures are in order: cotton, canvas, plaid cotton, linen

#plants #growingplantsfromseeds #balconyplants #pottedplants #dyeplants #flowers #grownfromseed #dyegarden #harvestingflowers #dyeingwithflowers #sosdyeing #schoolofsweetgeorgia #naturallydyed #dyeingwithplants #dyeing #naturallydyeing …

Proud

Of course I used the Shift dress pattern by Wiksten again lol. Since I’ve already sewn this pattern twice this summer, I can practically sew it in my sleep.

This was dyed with madder extract from maiwa_naturaldyes , at a very low WOF and a light iron bath. Then the fabric was eco-printed with fresh flowers and plants I grew on my balcony with seeds from grandprismaticseed

The fabric was actually in two different-sized pieces that came from a scraps bag also from Maiwa. I had just enough yardage for a dress 😊 For the eco-printing to look even, I laid one piece of fabric over the other with some flowers face up and face down before rolling and steaming.

I hacked the pattern again so all three of my dresses would be just a little bit different. This dress is the top pattern, cut at a high waste, and I pleated the extra fabric for the dress portion which is about 3” wider than the top and has no slit at the sides. Oh, and no pockets (only because I didn’t have enough fabric lol).

I learned almost all of my natural dyeing and growing a dye garden from schoolofsweetgeorgia with instructor ffrench . Highly recommend!!! I also took tips from Kathy Hatori from botanicalcolors who also teaches hand-painting yarn at the school (lots of tips still work on fabric!) *I also read an insane amount of books and blogs on natural dyeing.

There are a few things I could point out that went wrong but I won’t. I’m just so pleased with how it turned out. Lots of firsts here too. I’m proud to wear all my mistakes and all my firsts!!

(Oh and yes, I still won’t iron my garments before a photo shoot 😂 a wrinkled mess, that’s me!!)

#plants #growingplantsfromseeds #balconyplants #pottedplants #dyeplants #flowers #grownfromseed #dyegarden #harvestingflowers #dyeflowers #linen #ecoprinting #ecoprintingonfabric #sosdyeing #schoolofsweetgeorgia #dyeingwithplants #dyeing #naturallydyed #naturaldyeing #dyeingwithflowers #maiwanaturaldyes #botanicalcolors #sewing #grandprismaticseed #shiftdress #wikstenshift #wikstenpatterns #handmadewardrobe #handmade …

No waste!

Yesterday I cooked up all the remains I picked off my eco printed fabric. Why waste good dye stuff when there is still life in it!

Today is my last dye day of the year! (Let me say here, this dye pot smells incredible!!!)

#plants #growingplantsfromseeds #balconyplants #pottedplants #dyeplants #flowers #grownfromseed #dyegarden #harvestingflowers #dyeflowers #linen #ecoprinting #ecoprintingonfabric #sosdyeing #schoolofsweetgeorgia #dyeingwithplants #dyeing #naturallydyed #naturaldyeing #dyeingwithflowers …

Mix

In these linens is a mix of my dye plants and flowers that I have purchased from local markets (a few wood chips as well). This fabric will be used in a quilted blanket or quilted jacket… something quilted lol.

There are many things to change for future eco printing: Tighter bundles make better prints. Making sure plant materials get to the edges of the fabric. And less is more 😆 I kind of over did it in places.

I would also like to experiment with separators so colours doesn’t bleed into other layers, iron printing and discharged print design. I also didn’t get a chance to do an indigo dyeing this year or play with Shibori techniques.

There is always next year!! 😉

#plants #growingplantsfromseeds #balconyplants #pottedplants #dyeplants #flowers #grownfromseed #dyegarden #harvestingflowers #dyeflowers #linen #ecoprinting #ecoprintingonfabric #sosdyeing #schoolofsweetgeorgia #dyeingwithplants #dyeing #naturallydyed #naturaldyeing #dyeingwithflowers …