"I begin with an idea ... and then it becomes something else"
~ Picasso

Wednesday 17 June 2009

Hand Dyed Fabrics

Thinking about my fabrics for the tropical art quilt I experimented with different ways of colouring and dyeing pieces of cotton and calico. These are small samples that I recorded in my sketchbook and include cotton dyed with silk paints and salt crystals, shibori on silk, tie dye on cotton and calico with batik wax trailing and silk paints

Spaced dyed cottons and threads using cold water dyes















Calico with hot batik wax spooned on
Marks made with a fork
Coloured with copper metallic silk paints


















These are early experiments with batik wax
I'm pleased to notice that I've improved the technique
a fair bit since these early samples!














The patterns were made by scratching into the wax with a fork













Cotton dyed and salt crystals added to draw the dye














More dyed cotton with silk paints and salt crystals













Cotton tie-dyed in yellow - I used a Dylon cold water dye















Silk dyed with a shibori resist - coloured with silk paints
















More cotton dyed with silk paints and salt crystals














4 comments:

Pom Pom said...

Hi Carolyn! Wow, I LOVE this blog, too! What gorgeous fabrics. I DO adore fabrics and I miss the old fabric stores we used to have. Now, it's hard to find them. When our kids were little, going to the fabric store was helpful therapy. I have so many fabric memories with my mom and sister, too. I think the quilting store is where I can get by fabric need met! AND your pretty blog! Yahoo!

eb said...

I absolutely adore your work :)
So much so, that I'm actually using you and your work as an inspirational starting point for my own GCSE textile wall panel! I was just wondering if I could ask you some questions that might help me with my research?
Thank you! And keep up with the epic work, ♥

Jo Wholohan said...

absolutely adore the circles batik carolyn xx

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