Hello ... I had never wanted to dye my own fabrics, mostly because I believed it was an all time consuming process which I knew literally nothing about. Yet as my art has changed so has my desire for solid hue fabrics. With the encouragement of a friend, I signed up for an on-line dyeing class through Quilt University. Now, I have found a new and useful passion. The process is clear with lots of room to experiment. The first assignment called for dyeing gradations of black and white (grays) and then designing an art piece using only mono tone fabrics.
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| Range of Dyed Fabrics |
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| Original Shaded Design |
The final design was created from an evolving series of designs. I started with a painted abstract, drew a line design, then shaded the drawing with different gray tones. From the line drawing I enlarged the pattern and began choosing hand dyed fabrics for each element. Parts of the design did not work so I revised it again by moving around elements and discarding others. Alas the final design is machine appliqued and ready to quilt. It measures 18 by 22 inches naked (without boarders). The design process took about two days of
work at the design board ;-) I use the term work loosely as the process is always more play than work.
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| Tonal Dye #1 - 18 by 22 inches |
I am happy with the final piece. The hand dyed fabrics add new dimension and interests to the design.
