Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Frustration in dyeing

Yesterday before work I took some of what I thought was Cerulean Blue and Tangerine dyes that I already had mixed up a while ago and left a piece of fabric in a dye bath all day to get a yard of BROWN. This is what I ended up with:

Yes, it looks like it's khaki-colored green with some lavender in it. Not exactly what I was hoping for. So, last night, I mixed up some Black and Strong Orange dye powders and dyed two small pieces, hoping again for brown. It really looked good in the dye bath this morning, I was hopeful.

But this is what I ended up with after washing.

One piece is a grey-ish purple, the other is a light grey. It's like the orange completely left the fabric after washing. If anyone has any suggestions on what I can do to get a good brown, please leave a comment. Otherwise, I'll have to take a trip to Joann's...and waste my day off today on the road.

3 comments:

  1. Mix 3 parts strong orange with 2 parts black (if the black is not mixed double strength-otherwise, only one part black). If dye concentrate is mixed at 2 tablespoons powder to one cup water (I also add 2 tablespoons urea), mix 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup dye solution for one yard of fabric. You should get a nice chocolate brown.

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  2. Thanks, Anonymous! I did use strong orange and new black for the second pieces, but I didn't wash my fabric first. Hoping that if I pre-scour it this time, the brown I'm trying for will work.

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  3. I spent several hours dying fabric one day, and made some gradations and layered parfaits and one yard pieces. How frustrating to see all the colors fade out the next day. Then I realized I forgot to soda-soak the fabric! Hope you figure it out!

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