Dyed Mottled Fabric, A Free Pattern and a Fabric Giveaway

Welcome, blog hoppers!  What a great morning it is.  Participating in this week-long blog hop with other demonstrators on the Quilting Arts TV Series 1400 is not only fun but it is an honor to be in such accomplished company.

 

http://www.interweavestore.com/quilting-arts-tv-series-1400-group

I hope you will be checking out others' blogs on this hop.  I have visited them and greatly enjoyed each one.

If you leave a comment in the comments section below, you will be automatically entered into a random drawing for 1 yard of 100% cotton fabric that I have dyed using an adaptation of the method that I demonstrated on Quilting Arts TV Series 1400.  There will be two randomly chosen winners who will receive 1 yard each, so be sure to leave a comment.

These are the two fabrics that I will be giving away.

 

In my segment of the series I demonstrate a method of applying water soluble, non-toxic dyes directly to fabric to achieve some fun and often serendipitously astounding mottled fabrics.

Today I am going to talk about two subjects - (1) A recent dying project and (2) A free pattern for a vinyl covered apron to use when dyeing.

(1)  STEPS TO ACHIEVING A MOTTLED EFFECT ON FABRIC

Recently I have been working on a 36" x 48" quilt with a "Shadows" theme by adapting into fiber an acrylic painting that one of my daughters created.  I found no commercial fabric that would produce the effect that I wanted to achieve.  The following will give a glimpse into how I dyed fabric to arrive at a background that would be perfect for the "Shadows" theme.

Step 1 - Cover the work surface with a large section of inexpensive, plastic drop cloth.

Plastic Drop Cloth Covering Work Surface

 

Step 2 - Arrange needed materials

 

Non-toxic, Liquid Dyes, Small Plastic Containers, Paint Brushes, Clean-up Rag

Step 3 - Prewash and rinse the fabric to assure that all sizing has been removed.  Let the fabric remain wet after the final rinse.

Step 4 - Lay out the wet fabric onto the plastic covered work surface.

Step 5 - Pour non-toxic, liquid Rit dyes into containers and add a few drops of HOT water.

The dye colors I used were aquamarine and pearl gray.

 

Pearl Gray Aquamarine, and Dye Fixative

Step 6 - Use wide paint brushes to randomly "paint" liquid dye colors directly onto the wet fabric.  

Step 7 - Note:  At this point I tried something that I had not done before.  I loaded one of the paint brushes with opaque white fabric paint and brushed the paint over the peaks that had formed as a result of the fabric shifting while applying the dye colors.  

Opaque White Fabric Paint Applied to Peaks

Unfortunately, I must report that whatever pigment renders the white fabric paint opaque made the paint stay on the surface and did not become one with the fabric.  Ultimately I scraped it off with the edge of an old credit card after it was "cooked" in the microwave oven.

Hint:  Leave some areas of the fabric white and let the dye do its natural bleeding.

Step 8 - Liberally spray Rit Dye fixative over the entire dye-painted fabric and let it sit for 20 minutes.

Step 9 - After letting the fixative work its magic for 20 minutes, cover the entire fabric, front and back, with microwave safe plastic wrap and then fold it into a package size that fits into the microwave oven.  Pinch the edges of the plastic envelope.  This creates a sort of envelope to capture steam.

Step 10 - Next, pop the folded "package" into the microwave on a high setting for 1 minute and 30 seconds.  Since steam is created inside the packet, it becomes very hot so let it sit for about 3 minutes before removing the packet from the microwave.

Step 11 - Peel off the plastic wrap and then rinse the fabric in warm water.  The dye fixative does a fantastic job of setting the colors and steam further sets them, so very little or no color will be dispersed into the rinse water.

Step 12 - After the fabric dries, iron it and it will be ready to use.

Here is the piece that I dyed.  it's perfect for the background of the quilt that I am designing.

(2) VINYL COVERED APRON PATTERN

An important consideration when dyeing fabric is protective outerwear.  Needless to say, gloves are necessary unless you really like dyed figernails and nail beds.  Next, unless one is meticulous about wearing grungy clothing where dye spatters don't matter, an apron really comes in handy.  A fabric apron provides some protection; however, a vinyl covered apron offers even greater protection for clothing. 

After unsuccessfully searching the internet for a vinyl covered apron, I couldn't find one.  Thus, I designed one, stitched it up and have found it perfect for those dyeing times in the studio--or anywhere, for that matter.  A quick swipe with a damp cloth and it's good as new/.

Completed Apron

APRON PATTERN

 And remember...Drum roll please...

Leave a comment and you will automatically be entered into a randomized drawing for a yard of my 100% cotton, hand dyed mottled fabric.  Two lucky visitors will each received one yard of fabric.

AND

Be sure to check out the next blog on the Quilting Arts Blog hop.  Here is the schedule:

July 18: Vivika DeNegre at quiltingdaily.com
July 19: Luana Rubin (luanarubin.typepad.com)/Linda Friedman (lindasartquilts.blogspot.com)
July 20: Sarah Ann Smith (sarahannsmith.com/weblog)/Karen Gloeggler (http://www.seminarandsew.com)
July 21: Carrie Bloomston (suchitysuch.blogspot.com/ Catherine Redford (catherineredford.com)
July 22: Sue Reno (suereno.blogspot.com)/ Rebekah Meier (rebekahmeier.com)
July 23: Lyric Kinard (lyrickinard.com/blog) / Margie Ullery (ribboncandyquilts.blogspot.com)
July 24: Cheryl Sleboda (muppin.com/wordpress/) / Jane Sassaman (janesassaman.com/weblog)
July 25: Susan Brubaker Knapp (bluemoonriver.blogspot.com)

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

 © Linda Friedman 2014.  All rights reserved.