[Ponte Alto] Re: dye day - July 24th starting at 10am

[l e storey]

Irene--

Thanks for the info!  This certainly answers my questions!  Good call
on the thread; I think your process of cutting out the pattern pieces
and then dying them will work well for me, and conserve dye etc.

Years ago I dyed yarns with onion skins and walnut, and I remember how
different the yarns came out of the same dye pot!  I like the variety
:-) and am looking forward to seeing your process and samples :-)

Thx again,

-Siobhan / Laura

--- ArtsofPalm at aol.com wrote:
> "I have some cream-y colored linen that I would like to sew into both
> 
> chemises and dresses, and I'm not sure how much fabric I'll need for
> the dress I have 
> in mind -- I was thinking that I'd sew the dress this weekend & dye
> it next 
> weekend -- would that work?  "
> 
> Greetings, Siobhan.
> 
> Your question is a very good one that I think should be posted to the
> Ponte 
> Alto list, as I remember wondering myself about these same questions.
>  Also, 
> perhaps Lady Vitha or others can answer it better than I, but here
> goes my 
> version of an answer.
> 
> I have not actually died a finished piece of clothing, but this is
> mostly 
> because I usually dye resist patterns as part of the process and it
> is both 
> easier to dye straight fabric, and I like to have the resulting
> designs already in 
> the fabric when I lay out and cut my pieces.   That's just part of
> the fun of 
> it for me.
> 
> I see no reason why it would not work to dye a finished garment,
> however.  It 
> might be kind of fun, as long as you do not use anything synthetic in
> the 
> garment construction, including to beware of the thread used in the
> garment!  
> Much of today's thread is all or partially synthetic.  It is not a
> problem if the 
> thread you use is the color you are aiming for, otherwise this could
> end up 
> being a problem. Also, beware of interfacings, etc.  for the same
> reason as the 
> thread.  
> 
> I cannot speak for the dye concentrating at the seams, although from
> my 
> experience of how these dyes work, it would not seem to be very
> likely.  Are you 
> trying to go for an even, all over color, or are some variations of
> appeal to 
> you.  The less water you use, the more intense the dye and ALSO, the
> more 
> variations in the dye pattern to your fabric.
> 
> When you come over, I will see if I can find some sample fabrics that
> I dyed. 
>  These fabrics were died in the same exact dye pot, and yet their
> colors came 
> out extremely differently.  One was a silk, one a mercerized cotten
> and the 
> last an untreated cotton.  Such a difference in color!  The moral to
> my story 
> is that dyeing is a journey, and you should plan for some surprizes. 
> For me, 
> this is part of the fun, rejoice in life's little surprized!
> 
> I suggest that you start with a project with no more than 4 yards,
> and not 
> something so expensive that you will be heartbroken should anything
> unexpected 
> happen
> 
> Here is what I HAVE done to minimize the amount of fabric I dyed
> (procion 
> dyeing goes by weight, so the more fabric, the more chemicals and
> therefore, the 
> more $)
> 
> I worked in this order:
> 1. prewashed/dried/shrunk my fabric (You should  particulalry do this
> with 
> dying to get any sizing out of it), 
> 2. cut out my pattern pieces with a generous seam allowance (3/4"
> worked for 
> me), died those, rinsed them out with the synthahol, 
> 3. Ironed the fabric pieces dry after they were less than soaked,
> 3. sewn the garment, and finally
> 4. THEN run it all once again through the wash and dry process.
> 
> Essentially, I cut out the fabric but did my best not to let it fray
> before I 
> sewed it all up.  Going this route worked well for me and I did
> several 
> garments this way.  
> 
> Hope this helps.  
> 
> YIS,
> Irene Madhaidin
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