Secret Tie-Dye Tip

Wanted to share a tip about rinsing your dyed warp chains, t-shirts, what-ever..... using the Fiber Reactive Dye for cotton, silk, Tencel, bamboo....(not wool).

After I have dyed the articles- Here I have some cotton hankies and some more of the cotton t-shirts that turned out to be too small for grandson, and a couple of adult t-shirts.

I let them dry in the sun (if possible) or in the basement if it is raining. Sometimes I don't even wait until everything is dry. I do TRY to make myself wait at least a couple of hours before I am ready to remove the rubber bands and rinse. But instead of taking to the sink and rinsing and rinsing and rinsing, I have a secret method.

Now here is the tip I wanted to share. I fill my bucket with water and 'Synthrapol' and then put in as much as I can of the items - at the same time - and let that sit overnight. And the next morning I pour off the liquid, and rinse by hand in the sink. There is very little dye left in the fibers. So there is only one or maybe two rinse cycles. Try this the next time you dye a warp chain. You will spend a lot less time rinsing out the left-over dye.

 

 

Throw in the washer and dryer or dry out side. Either way, your dye is set and you have spent less time rinsing out the excess dye.







 

A Grandson To Dye For

Been playing with the grandson and tie-dye! Grandma and grandson had a great time. No dye on clothes or shoes we were wearing at the time...... just our hands!

Shawn dyed his own t-shirts.

Grandma dyed the hat with the yellow bill and Shawn dyed the rest!

Shawn dyed these two cotton scarves for his sister and his mother. (His brother gets a  t-shirt too! But it is already packed for the trip back to VA.)

What Is Old Is Now Done

Here are a couple of baby blankets that I had started way-way-way back before April....... The red, yellow, and blue one was from the Kit I bought from Yarn Barn-KS.  It is a four shaft draft using summer and winter to produce four blocks. It would have been a quick project had I been able to get to the loom. So I finished he kit, then went ahead started on another, but instead of changing blocks, I just keep doing the one over and over again. So one warp, two different looks just by changing the treadling. My kind of weaving!!

The purchased kit.

My version.

Dye Workshop

Never let it be said that the Divas let the grass grow under their feet for long. After the eciting and wonderful weaving workshop with Jason Collingwood, they turned around and had a dye party! They dyed tencel, silk, cotton, silk cloth, cotton cloth..... and a few other things I forgot to write down. Enjoy the color!

And while all that was going on, we also had show and tell...... and I only got a photo of one set of towels by Tomi. Diane and I brought our rag rugs, but I didn't get a picture to share with you. Just know that Diane's rug was outstanding!!

Echo and Iridescent Colors

 

If you are a member of Complex Weavers, you know about this new weaving book by Marian Stubenitsky. If not and you are wondering about shadow weave, warp weave, echo weave, Moire, four color doubleweave, multicolor double twill and maybe turned taquete or turned samitum........ you must get this book. The photographs alone are worth the price. If you are only four shafts or thirty-two, there is something in this book for you. According to the book, you might check out www (dot) weefschool (dot) nl   or marianstubenitsky (@) gmail (dot) com. I have only had the book for a few days, but am just really 'jazzed' about all the info she has in this very high-class impressive 233 page book!

Jason Collingwood Workshop

The Springfield Fiber Artists and Drury College had the internationally famous Jason Collingwood come to Springfield Missouri for a three day rug workshop. Jason and his father Peter, are well know in the weaving world for their awesome rugs and shaft switching. I didn't get a photo of all the samples, but here is most of them. I understand the class was great, he was funny, and was able to talk to you at 'your level of weaving'. Signs of a great teacher! I was sorry to miss it!!

Weaving Program in July

If you belong to a weaving guild, I am sure at one time or the other you have been asked to give a program. The same hold for us here at the Weaving Diva's Guild. Sometimes you might give a program about a weave or some technique you are well familiar with. To some of us, it's a time to learn, explore, and test the waters of a "new to me" weave or technique. Susan had some exposure to Boundweave, but it was years ago, so she hunted up her book "BOUNDWEAVE, by Clotilde Barrett (1982) and explored. She gave great tips and got several of us excited to explore Boundweave ourselves.

Explaining some of the different treadlings.

Rug: Saddle Blanket Weave

Susan and her sample, which is now a very awesome table runner! ("I ran out of time to finish the edges." )