#fiber dye

[disgruntled-lifeform]

About to enter my Alchemist Era

[weavingforlooms]

I need to post properly again!

Someone in my handspinner’s guild put together a dye day and I brought some silk blanks and some wool I have and played with pinks and purples! I really meant to branch out but I’m easily distracted.

And while I love everything I did, this particular purple is my favorite! It’s so deep and vibrant that actually the camera could barely handle it!!!

And this one is probably the best example of how I used the same dye base for all the wool, the only thing I changed was how much patience I had for the dye to sit long enough lol. Poured some vinegar water into this one in particular, at first just to dilute the dye and make it spread more, but soon realized it gave me that blue tone! SOOOO much variation, im already obsessed with color play!!! Holding back from hunting down undyed fiber and yarns to make a dye collection.

[hqcreations]

Upcycling our failed batch of red wine as a fabric dye.

It. Was. Undrinkable. Wait I take it back. It was “drinkable” provided you don’t take issue with splitting headaches and a day-long hangover. 

Perhaps our successes in beer brewing fueled our overconfidence, but we were certain that wine fermentation would be super easy. We bought a Sangiovese wine kit, which was not cheap, but considering that the anticipated result was 5 gallons of wine, the cost would work out in the long run. Long story short, it was not a good wine. I tried turning into red wine vinegar and cooking with it, but I’m just not moving this wine along fast enough. Then I thought - fabric dye?

As it turns out…wine can’t really be considered a dye, it’s really more of a stain. The pigment does not fix well and is not very stable. Instead of a large piece of fabric, I decided to try dying some sari silk ribbon that can be used as art yarn or as a unique gift wrapping material. I used a bit of alum as a mordant, which helped to retain a brighter and crisper color and gently boiled the silk with the wine for god knows how long. 

After a thorough drying, At the end of the day, I call this a success! My gross red wine produced rustic soft pink silk ribbons that are truly unique. 

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[motleycraft-o-rama]

By littlev_andme on Instagram.

[ahollowyear]

Red onion skins+vinegar makes raspberry.

[thingstodowithmyhands]

How to Kettle Dye Wool on a Stove