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Post by carole aka craftywoman on Mar 9, 2014 7:49:11 GMT
Silk cocoons
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Post by carole aka craftywoman on Mar 9, 2014 7:52:36 GMT
all my dyeing is am experiment, as I've never done this before, so in the heart of the experiment I used merino and then harsher fleece (sheep's wool) for a red, orange and yellow piece and I think the merino took the dye in a much more vibrant way. the Merino is on the left.
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Post by carole aka craftywoman on Mar 9, 2014 7:56:47 GMT
as well as doing other colours in wool, I dyed some silk tops, I just love the effects on the silk tops I think I've been bitten by the dyeing bug, and I'm going to do some more today, I want to try out black on the silk rods
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Post by carole aka craftywoman on Mar 9, 2014 8:51:52 GMT
last picture I promise, I just had to have a go at layering up the various fibres, trying to get inspiration for a piece of work
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Post by zed on Mar 9, 2014 9:38:58 GMT
Wow, they are all gorgeous! I love the colours you made, really natural and earthy, but vibrant! I have some plant based fibres and some cotton thread waiting for me to try Procion. I'll have to look up the advice from Lyn, Ann and Ruth again and try to find time this week.
Aargh, I'm so jealous of those greens!
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 9, 2014 14:34:42 GMT
You got great colours. I just love silk it is so shiny I think I am a bit like a magpie.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 9, 2014 15:14:11 GMT
Luscious colors Carole! I can't wait to see how you use them. It does become addictive. I can relate.
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Post by Leonor (of Eleanor Shadow) on Mar 9, 2014 15:37:33 GMT
Carole, a question, if you don't mind: did you monitor the temperature whilst dyeing the silk? I read in a manual one should keep the temperature up to a certain degree, otherwise silk loses its shine... Yours looks great, so I'm wondering!
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Post by MTRuth on Mar 9, 2014 16:48:32 GMT
Great job Carole - you did get some lovely colors and I look forward to seeing what you do with all those lovely silk bits.
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Post by carole aka craftywoman on Mar 9, 2014 18:29:26 GMT
Leonor, your question about the temp, there was nothing scientific about this process, I put a metal cake tin in a large saucepan, a metal colander on top of that, got the water to boiling point and stuck in the wrapped fibres, a whole pile of them and just steamed it for 1/2 hour and hey presto this was the result. I did more today with the same results using darker colours. I don't have any of the proper equipment and I've never dyed before but I love how the silk fibres are glowing like jewels - I'm calling it beginners luck. I didn't even have rubber gloves so my hands are a lovely shade of black, purple and green. Thank you for the lovely comments, I keep looking at all these goodies wondering what I am going to do with them - I need the next challenge :-)
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Post by halay on Mar 9, 2014 18:59:08 GMT
Carole, Oh, what beautiful colours! All my dyeing experiments have not given such a nice result. Also, I noticed that they fade away when I use them in felting.
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Post by MTRuth on Mar 9, 2014 19:34:25 GMT
Makeshift steamers work just as well as the costly kind. Halay - what kind of dyes are you using?
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 10, 2014 1:57:37 GMT
Leonor I had heard 140 degrees and I have heard 150 degrees when doing immersion dying. Steam doesn't seem to cause trouble but I don't know how hot the steam would be.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 10, 2014 2:24:23 GMT
I'm not sure about the degrees but as long as you can see some steam escaping you're good. :-)
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Post by Leonor (of Eleanor Shadow) on Mar 10, 2014 15:50:31 GMT
Thanks, Carole! I think the instructions I read were for immersion dyes. I'm getting quite curious about steam dyeing, because it seems to be better for wool (I think it won't felt, since it's not moving in water)... I have to give this some serious thought
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