Mops and Rocks

On Weds our Fiber Junkies group met at Val's house for a day of Deconstructive Screenprinting.  We've done this before and it's always great fun. The technique involves laying thin objects underneath a blank silk screen, then using a squeegee to lay thickened dye on top.  The dye on the screen takes on the shapes of all the objects.  After the screen is dry, a thickened paste mixture is used to loosen the dye which in turn prints on fabric underneath.  I forgot my camera but have my own to share.  There were some wonderful ones created by Val, Kate and Mary and some really interesting objects for placing underneath the screens. 

     I decided to go through my stash and grab scraps of all kinds of fabric good for using with procion mx dyes so here goes.  The first one below is Test fabric mercerized 419 cotton, the best fabric for using with mx dyes.

 This is also mercerized cotton but you can see the "rocks" and "string-like" material which is from an old mop.  The rocks are from one of those mats you put in the bottom of the sink to protect dishes from breaking.  These 2 objects turned into the favorites of the day with great results.

 This is also the mercerized cotton (below) on the first swipe when not as much dye is released.

 This is mercerized cotton, a different screen altogether. I love the little bits of purple in it.

I'm seeing a pattern of color here. At first, I wrote down the colors I was using so I wouldn't get repetitive and have a nice assortment when finished. Apparently, I wasn't paying attention to this list of colors - lots of repeats, but I do like them.

 This is one of my favorites. The print was done on silk charmeuse - 23mm which is a heavier weight than the more commonly used 16mm charmeuse.  It is the silk left over from my daughter's wedding gown.  Silk takes the mx dyes really well and the rock pattern is really fun.

 More charmeuse, more rocks.... and this time a green dye - not my usual color but I'm glad to have it and it will work somewhere.

 This next one is silk gauze, a 3.5mm which is gossamer thin.  I think it might work as some overlays for other images - my original intent.

 I love this next one done on silk chiffon.  I decided not to clean my screens in between. This screen had some dried "drips" on it and I used it as is. I love the way the drips appeared on the prints.

 I did a lot of silk organza which I hope to use in the printer or as overlays; below is an organza print.

 And last...but not least is rayon, one of my favorite fabrics for taking color.  I can always count on it for beautiful deep color and the mop and rocks add personality.

So it was a fun day and I can't wait to see everyone else's. It's always such a surprise working with this technique - both printing it and then the washout. Now....What to do with it!
Happy Creating