Ice Dyeing Retreat Pt. 1

A small group of gals from the Mountain Art Quilters - a satelite group from the international group of SAQA got together for some ice dyeing. Everyone brought lots of supplies which included procion mx dyes, soda ash and fabric.

Oddly enough, we all brought different blues, greens etc so sharing provided so many choices. Tables were set up close by for easy access.

Risers were used to give us a more comfortable height to work with. Trays with screens on top were put in place, ready for the first step - white fabric and ice.

I can't help but laugh when I look at these tables, envisioning them to come alive and start walking...like something from an old time horror movie - "Revenge of the Tables".

Okay...back on track...first step is to place scrunched up fabric which has been soaked in a soda ash solution on top of the screen and then covered with a layer of ice. I forgot to take a picture of the white fabric but you can see a bit of it peeking out. Make sure all of the fabric is covered.

Next step is to sprinkle procion mx dye on top of the ice. I like to use around 3 colors. You can see the dye is distributed in a "polka dot" like fashion, allowing each dye its own place on the ice. Dyes should melt into each other by touching.

Here the ice is completely covered with dye. As the ice melts, the dye strikes the fabric. Since the ice melts at different rates, you get a crystal like effect on the fabric.

The ice and fabric are covered with black plastic and clipped all around. 

Sometimes I like to repeat a color combo especially when I make scarves so I thought to photograph the jars of dye with names on front for each batch....now to figure out which batch belongs to which dyes...harder than you would think.

Even in warm weather, which it was....very.....the ice can take hours and hours to melt and you want at least 4-5 hours for the dyes to batch...well, the big reveal is certainly the best part.

We all used different fabrics which can creat different looks. Procion mx dyes work on all natural fibers. I used mostly a mercerized broadcloth cotton which I like the best. I also found in my stash a cotton/silk blend (60/40) which was a nice surprise and it dyed well...We had some rayon challis, Hoffman batik for dyeing, gauze, silk scarves and felt. This is also a good method for overdyeing fabrics you don't like...even prints.

We did one tray of all blues...

and rusts and reds....

This was our black, gray and Havana brown tray...amazing the way some of the colors split.

The blues and yellows

very vibrant...

We had 3 different clotheslines going....and a breezy, sunny day so the weather was perfect.

We also did some acid dyeing which only works on animal fiber - silk and wool..

and the color is brilliant as you can see.

These particular pieces of felt were clamped and resisted with objects to give white areas.

Scarves for personal use and for my Woolworth booth....Pt.2 coming soon with my fabrics washed and ironed...We had a large variety....and such a fun day!