Gold !

Using the same techniques and testings as in the Previous post ( A New Glow ) I experimented with a piece of silk that had been dyed using onion skins.

The silk had been boiled in the dye pot for 30mins to achieve a lovely warm peachy glow, as shown on the left hand side of the note pad below. Having used this shade in previous work I thought it would be good to carry on experimenting to see what other colours can be obtained, and mixed up some colour modifer solutions.

The results are as follows....

(left to right, top row - Soda Water; Iron Water; Copper & Vinegar Water; bottom row - Vinegar Water; Copper Water.)

The variety is really clear and I was quite surprised at all the lovely shades that came from the same dyed cloth! I fell for the gold shade which came from the Copper & Vinegar Water solution.

The rest of the silk was then modified and below are a couple of products awaiting photo styling before being added to my shops...

Golden Neck-Tie Silk Scarf

Golden Triangle Silk Scarf

Let me know what you think!

A New Glow

I have been rummaging through my stacks of experimented fabrics recently trying to find things I can make some use of. I came across this long leafed eucalyptus printed piece of silk and thought I must make something from it!





However as you can see the print is a very subtle shade of green/brown and in some areas of the fabric looked dirty, though I know it isn't, it's part of the print, I'm not sure how a potential buyer would see this. I then remembered that I had bought a jar of turmeric spice powder to experiment with and it was still sitting in the cupboard untouched. So i decided to boil up a pan. I let the turmeric simmer for about an hour before straining the powder from the water and then adding the silk. (Again, my patience was not used in this experiment as I just tossed all the fabric in at once thinking about the spontaneity of it all!)


The fabric simmered gently for about an hour, and once dried gave a startling glow...



It is a lovely shade and great for summer, but I just feel it is too bright for my collection?!


So I decided I would cut a sample to experiment colour modifying with...
And so, out came the cups! I decided that if you're going to test something then you might as well test it thoroughly, and with a bit more caution than I sometimes do; so i mixed up five solutions as below...

From left to right - Copper & Vinegar Water; Copper Water; Vinegar Water; Soda Water; Iron Water.

You can see above after 15 minutes of soaking there was significant colour changes.

I compiled the results in my notebook next to each other so the variations can be seen clearly, ranging from bright yellows to murky beige and green....

I am leaning towards the duller yellow (copper modified) as I think it would sit nicely in with other colours in my current stock collection.

Though I can't decide for sure on which method to use for the full piece of silk yet, or if I should just even leave it the bright yellow as it is?!...would love to know your thoughts on what colour you would most likely want to wear....

Experimenting...

Yesterday I decided that I would make time, I have been trying to make time for the past few weeks mind, to conduct some fresh colour tests for future dye projects.

I wanted to start basic with what I know best - Eucalyptus dyes. I used a secondry dye that had been brewed a few weeks a ago and stored, and began by warming it gently. I then cut up several sample pieces of silk and threw them all in the pot (below) and set the timer rolling.

(Please note that the flash was used and therefore the liquid dye was not quite as bright as this photograph is showing!)

The silk swatches were removed every 15 minutes. There were 5 batches of swatches so the longest time soaked totalled 75 minutes. The results for solely Eucalyptus dyed swatches can be seen below with the various times marked.

The remaining swatches were then divided into three ready for their next stage of experimentation, which was to add them to colour modifiers to see if any changes would occur.

The modifiers I had prepared were a Soda Water Modifier, a Vinegar Water Modifier and a Iron Water Modifier as below...

(All three modifiers were prepared by me, but the Iron Water is marked as home made as this was solely prepared from re-claimed rusty nails rather than a powder bought solution.)

The next step was to prepare all the various water modifiers to all the individually timed swatches. So out came the plastic cups. Each were marked as to what their contents would be, then a teaspoon of the specific modifier was added along side half a cup of cold tap water.

The swatches were then added and photographed after 15 minutes to record any changes...

Already at 15 minutes soaking time I could begin to see colour changes.

Then they were photographed at 30 minutes....

Then again at 45 minutes...

And finally at 60 minutes....

It is clear from the photographs that a lot of the colour changes occur within the first 30 minutes of being added to the colour modifier.

The swatches were then chopped in half, leaving one half in the pots to soak for a further hour with an additional teaspoon of modifier.

The results from both tests were then recorded beside each other to compare for additional changes and to store for future records and dyeing times.

Soda Water Modifier Results

Vinegar Water Modifier

Iron Water Modifier

And that is just a few tests from one leaf source! I have plans to test a lot of different plants and flowers, and hopefully it won't be too long before I find the time again!

I hope you have enjoyed this post and found it quite interesting, would love to know your thoughts.