I spent a few more days ice dyeing last week. I'm really enthralled by the process. It's my "new boyfriend", as Jane Dunnewold would say. Below are more photos of my results. I have also documented the process for those of you who may not be familiar with it. You can also google "ice dyeing" and you will find numerous tutorials and lots of ideas for alternate ways of setting this up.
 |
| Red violet and yellow green liquid dyes on cotton |
|
|
 |
| Red, yellow and green powdered dyes on cotton sateen |
 |
| Yellow and green powdered dyes on cotton |
 |
| Blue and orange liquid dyes on silk/cotton |
 |
| Tobacco, bronze and palomino gold powdered dyes on cotton |
 |
| Red and green liquid dyes on cotton |
This set up worked well. I placed a tarp on the grass and anchored the corners into the ground. The fabric was raised above the surface with a plastic ceiling grid. The fabric was soda soaked and the dyes were applied while the fabric was damp.
The day the photos were taken, I used powdered dye sprinkled directly onto
the ice cubes. Salt and pepper shakers work well for this. I used full size ice cubes made with ice cube trays. The powdered dyes mix and mingle with the melting ice. Later in the week I experimented with different kinds of ice and with liquid dyes.
Once all the dye had been applied, I folded the tarp in half to keep the cloth damp. This also proved helpful when the rain storm came through later that morning.
This is what the cloth looked like after the ice cubes melted. Not very exciting. But look at the finished cloth below.
 |
| Deep purple and jade green on silk dobby noil |
This looks like fun! And what results. Makes me want to try this....
ReplyDeleteIt is fun and the results are fabulous. Stay tuned - next Tuesday I'll share some of my observations about the process.
DeleteRight now I'm being courted by leaves and rust, but I can see that ice and dyes may not be far behind! Thanks for another great post with lots of eye candy!
ReplyDeletexo
Or you could just wait and try it with snow!
DeleteLooks like a fun thing to do on a hot day.
ReplyDeleteIt is, although I prefer doing it early in the morning. I got a late start yesterday and was pretty hot by the time I finished!
DeleteI have been snagged by ice dying. I must have dyed 10 yards of fabric and still going. Can we use wools in this process?
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried wool, although I know people who use procion dyes successfully on wool with soda ash, so it's worth a try.
ReplyDeleteThis past winter, I got great results using snow and fiber reactive dyes on embossed silk. The colors are not as vibrant on silk as acid dyes might be, but they are quite beautiful nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteHi there, would you be willing to share the names of the the powdered dyes you used? I'm specifically interested in the "yellow and green powdered dyes on cotton" and the "tobacco, bronze and palomino gold" samples. I've been able to find the bronze and palomino gold, but not sure which specific colors the others would be. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteI've started ice dying children's clothes with Procion dye. I plan to sell them. Are there Consumer Product guideline restrictions on this? Searching gov't and dye vendor's websites is futile. I get the impression it's ok but maybe that's because it's the answer I want.
ReplyDelete