A different challenge for my Art group this week....
tie dye!
We dyed some Tshirts last year successfully, and this time we tried traditional Japanese fabric dying technique of
shibori, the art of folding, twisting or pleating fabric and then dying it to create a controlled pattern.
Fabric should be a natural fibre, we used cotton, cotton/linen mix, cotton artist canvas and silk. The fabric was folded or pleated and then tied tightly with elastic bands or string to hold the pleats in place, and then fabric dyes were added with a pipette in a controlled pattern.
The floor was covered in a huge tarp, and lots of newspaper and paper kitchen towels used to soak up the excess dye.... and don't forget to wear your oldest clothes and you definitely need latex gloves or you'll end up with interesting colourful hands. Everyone used a different colour combination on their fabric, and a different technique.
One of my pieces of fabric was dyed on a pole, tightly secured at the top of the pole with string, and then crumpled and wrapped around the pole and tied tightly in a spiral. Dye was injected on a random basis. The fabric is wrapped in plastic and left for 24 hours, then rinsed in cold water until the water is clear. The piece can then be washed in warm soapy water and the colour won't wash out.
Now I have some pieces of pretty tie dye cotton..... no idea what I'll do with them, but I'm sure I'll find some use.
