Who said necessity is not the mother of creativity or is it invention?
I started working on a new piece and when I got to choosing a background, I just couldn’t make myself to like any of the hand dyed fabrics I have available. They didn’t possess the “look” I had in my mind. I was looking for a loose-painted-look that I knew hand dyeing will not be able to create. So I decided to try something new.
Save to PINTEREST
Initially, I planned to do drip dyeing. I’ve always wanted to try it but I couldn’t find the space in my house nor contraption to hang fabrics from and to catch drips. But this time, I was so motivated to do something different; I just had to make it happen. I went around the house looking for a solution. Finally, I realized I could use a portable clothes closet that I had sitting around the house.
Drip Dyeing Tricks
I soaked my fabrics in soda ash solution, wrung most of the water out and hung them on the closet rods.
Then I dripped dye solution in a squirt bottle from the top of the rod and waited for different colors to run down the length of the fabric and mix.
While waiting (by the way, who said waiting was easy), I noticed that some dyes are faster athletes than others.
So I decided to help the “slow pokes” along. I grabbed some energy drinks aka paint brushes and sponges to help them slow pokes run faster. Using the brushes, I gave them a gentle and sometimes not so gentle push.
And boy did they run fast – crisscrossing the tracks, running into lanes where they didn’t belong, sometimes even losing their identities along the way.
And those who lost steam from dehydration got some soda ash solution from the squirt bottle. The result (drip dyeing turned dye painting) was certainly a beautiful race to watch.
While it was a photo-finish for some, others came out clear winners. The photos are in, judge for yourself!
