Friday, July 5, 2013

Preparing For Indigo Dyeing...

I'm so excited that I am going to have a few of my art friends up to the cottage for a bit of a retreat.  Since it's a wonderful outdoor spot, we've decided to try our hand at indigo dyeing.  This is a first for all of us, so we've been doing a lot of reading to get ready.

I decided to get a bit of a head start on preparing the fabric, especially since my left hand is still slowing me down considerably.  This way, on the day we prepare the indigo I'll be ready to get right to the fun of putting things in the vat!

accordion folded and clamped

fabric scrunched and bound with rubber bands

machine stitched (blue thread), then bound with
rubber bands

folded and clamped

T-shirt: accordion folded and bound with rubber bands

glass floral half marbles, wrapped and bound
with thread (Is it just me and my sweet tooth or
they look like scotch mints?).
as in 6, this showing the glass
marbles and crochet thread
fabric pulled and bound with rubber bands, some
one and others with two bands.


both are accordion folded, one bound with rubber bands
at regular intervals and the other randomly wrapped
with crochet thread

skeins of cotton crochet thread, some bound
with rubber bands

After I do the indigo dyeing, I will post the resulting fabrics, linking them to the method of prep used so that you can see the effects of the different preparations. Are you as curious to see as I am?

10 comments:

  1. This should be great fun. I have not done any dying but I have a weaver friend who does, about time to try it. xox

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    Replies
    1. Oh Corrine, it's so much fun. I love the fact that you never know exactly what you'll get until you iron the fabric after it's all done!

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  2. I did indigo dying a couple months ago and loved the color and results. Can hardly wait to see your postings of finished product. I wished I had taken the time to do more preparing like you did but what I did did turn out pretty awesome.

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    Replies
    1. I can't wait either Bonnie. Part of the reason I've had the patience to do all the prep is that I promised to wait to do the indigo dying with my friends when they come up the the cottage for our retreat. Doing this prep has kept me busy so I didn't get into the indigo early! I've been really anxious to get at it...

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  3. I've only done indigo dyeing once but had a blast and I loved my results. I did some of those folding techniques but not all. Can't wait to see your results.

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    Replies
    1. This is my first time with indigo. I've done other dyeing with Procion MX dyes and loved those results. I plan to do lots of dyeing this summer! It's so much better in the summer when I can do it outside and not have to worry about making a mess.

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  4. You will post your final results, won't you?!
    This is very creative.
    Cheers from Cottage Country!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jennifer. I certainly will post the resulting fabrics.

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  5. AHHHHH...OMG...now I'm really jealous!! I can't believe I'm missing out. I could hurt my boss right now. lol

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    Replies
    1. DO NOT hurt your boss!! There are no art supplies allowed in prison! :o)
      Sure wish you were here with us Leah!

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