Method 1 Soda Soak*

Prescour fiber
Soak fiber in activator solution, wring fiber to damp
Create resist patterns on damp fiber
Create dye solution, apply to activated fabric, and allow chemical reaction to occur
Remove excess dye solution from fiber
* Please note these are not detailed instructions for these methods just an outline. I will provide some links to places to find some more detailed instructions and more good stuff a bit later

This is my favorite for tie dye. I prefer a bottle applied method where dyes are squirted onto the manipulated fabric. I find that the time flexibility works in my favor here. I can spend as much time as I want manipulating the fiber without worrying that my dye is becoming inert because the chemical reaction doesn’t occur until the dye hits the fabric. The amount of activator solution left in the fabric can be used to create effects. I also often aim for full coverage of the fiber with the dyes when I’m doing tie dye leaving very minimal white. This method lends itself very well to that since the activator tends to wick (pull) the dyes into the fiber. I don’t like it for Shibori for that very reason.

The Basic Steps

Here are the most basic step by step instructions for resist dyeing ever. I’m not even gonna give them numbers because it is important to understand how flexible these steps are.
Prescour fiber
Create dye solution
Create resist patterns
Activate dye
Apply activated dye solution to the fiber and allow chemical reaction to occur
Remove excess dye solution from fiber

The trick is that these basic steps can be rearranged, repeated and combined to create the effects you want. Other elements can be added (thickening agents, wax, repeating dye baths and so on) as long as the basic requirements are met it will work. Deciding how to manage this process can be an important element in creating the effects you want. In my next posts I will cover the 3 Dyeing Methods almost all of my projects use. Each of these methods use the same steps in as I listed above in a slightly different order
Please note I’m not going to give detailed instructions for these methods just an outline. I will provide some links to places to find some more detailed instructions and more good stuff a bit later.

Choosing Fibers and the Importance of Prescouring

Procion Fiber Reactive MX Dyes work nicely on a wide variety of natural fibers which is one reason they are so popular. All plant based fiber (cotton, linen, hemp, viscose rayon, and paper, wood and so on) and silk will dye beautifully. I understand wool will too but I’ve never tried it and can’t speak to that at all. Blends like poly/cotton will give a faded, heathered appearance because the cotton will accept and the poly will reject the dyes definitely not recommended. Also watch out for recycled fiber (like old bed sheets) or any garment that isn’t prepared for dyeing (PFD). Even when they are 100% cotton often these are treated with chemicals to resist wrinkling or staining. Those chemicals resist dyeing very effectively too and can be impossible to remove from the fabric. Seriously, if you are going to put some time and effort into creating a resist dye by stitching or binding test the fiber first! It is really painful to find hours of work ending in a pitiful state all because you have fabric that was treated with some sort of stain resistant compound or a poly/cotton blend that was mislabeled.
If you are using fabric* you must prescour it. This is a necessary step. Prescour strips away dirt oils lubricating agents and sizing left in fabric from the manufacturing process. It will open the fibers up and make them receptive to the dye solution. Even if it is PFD don’t skip it.
Unscoured fabrics can be nearly water resistant making dye bead up and run off of them or come out faded and blotchy. To Prescour just hot wash with soda ash and soap (Synthrapol recommended). Do this two times if you want to. You can prescour it ahead of time, dry it and store it for future use so long as you don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets as those will just redeposit a bunch of the stuff you just took out of it.
Once the fabric is Prescoured you are ready to start manipulating it. In my next post I will outline the basic steps to resist dyeing.
* Paper and wood are a different story

The 3 Conditions: Chemistry, Time and Temperature

1. Chemistry
MX dyes are similar to Epoxy, there are two compounds that must be mixed together in the correct proportion for them to work. The first is the Dye the second is the Activator. The Dye has the color in it and the activator creates the chemical reaction which attaches the dye to the fiber. So a certain amount of Activator is necessary for a certain quantity of dye. The other chemical you need is water. Water has two functions in the process it determines how dark the dye will be and it is the agent that allows the other two compounds to mix together.
2. Time- two factors here
A. Once the Activator meets the dye a chemical reaction begins that binds the dye color to whatever receptive molecule is present so the clock is ticking! Dyes will begin to hydrolyze at this point. Hydrolyze means that it binds to the water instead of the fabric. It looks exactly the same but it will wash away in the rinsing out process.
B. MX Dyes require a certain amount of time to set to the fabric and if they are washed out too soon they will be faded, and unset dye can also create staining during the wash out process.
3. Temperature
Dyes require a certain temperature range for optimum effectiveness. They should be dissolved in warm water and they require a certain range of temperature to set to the fabric. That said it is a pretty wide range, say 60 to 100 degrees with 70 being optimum. I’ve only found that to be a problem with really cold temps combined with really dark colors.
Almost all of the problems you will ever encounter when dying fabric are due to one of these factors or a substrate problem (something about the fiber) which I will cover next.

What I Got…

As I’ve been thinking about my word of the day and what I have to offer to others I’ve spent some time reflecting on the things I have been doing recently that have felt on target either artistically or otherwise. One thing I really enjoyed blogging on last year was my Shibori experiments with Maki Age. It was helpful to me to record the process. It occurred to me that my experience working with MX dyes as a tie dye designer and as an artist might be of interest to others especially in conjunction with creative work.
There is a great deal of information on how to use these dyes out there already, much of it better written than I can manage. But I want to create a reference of the basic methods I use and the reasoning behind how I choose which method for which project. I will provide some links for some good information out there too.
So in that spirit…
I use Procion Fiber Reactive MX Dyes for both my tie dye work and my Shibori. This type of dye is really common among both crafters and professionals. MX dyes have some excellent qualities (brilliant saturated colors, lightfastness, versatility and ease of use). Once the process is understood and certain conditions are met they can be used for a large variety of applications with predictable results. In my next post I will outline these conditions.

A Word

Over at Christine Kanes blog she has made the suggestion of choosing a word to concentrate on rather than a whole list of resolutions. I think this is a wonderful way to focus my intent for the coming year. I've chosen the word "Present"...
It has two aspects that intrest me.
First it encompasses a shift in perception I am interested in making, I intend to focus more on what I have to offer (Present) rather than on what I want to receive. I often get trapped in needy thinking as if I have nothing of value to give to others. Refocusing on what I do have to offer is a powerful act for me and may very well help me overcome some challenges in my life.
The second aspect of this word is staying focused on the here and now (Present) not a hazy "someday" that never comes. There is a great deal of good in my life that slips by unrecognized because my spirit isn't present. I intend to change that too.
I think both of these shifts in perception can help me grow both as an artist and as a person.

Starting A New Year

I haven’t posted in awhile now. Mainly that is because I have been busy with holiday stuff and moving the studio, but it is also because I have been feeling fairly unsettled regarding my artistic direction.
Dismantling my studio and moving it into my home has meant deciding what to keep, where it goes and how in the world to store it all. A great deal of purging went on. This past weekend I got it down to the final tasks, I’m left with a few things to donate or sell. Once those items are taken care of I will be able to use the garage for its primary purpose, storing cars!
I am a happier person when I’m not weighed down by clutter (I think most people are) but getting to that place often means some hard decisions and sometimes facing regrets and guilt that gets all tangled up in my stuff.
Letting go of the studio has felt rather like unraveling some knitting because there’s a mistake back in the first few rows. Absolutely necessary in order to finish the project but it can be hard not to regret the wasted effort.
I’ve also managed to finish up a few lingering projects
This is the final resolution of the Maki-age project I started back in October…
Some pillows made from some Itajime shibori I made last year…
A simple bag made from one of last year’s Maki-age experiments…
And a knitting bag made from another. This is a gift for a friend. I don’t knit myself. I finally feel ready to start the new year!