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My bottles of Colorhue dye came with no instructions. I searched on the Internet and figured out that you need only a few drops of the dye concentrate in the water and so I forged ahead.
I had a sheet of plexiglas. I dripped some of my dye solution on the Plexiglas and then laid a piece of silk charmeuse over it. The Colorhue dyes strike instantly and do not spread very much.
The fabric in the middle in the top photo was the first piece that I did. The piece on the right was done with dry silk charmeuse and I added some black dribbles.
Next, I folded a piece of silk charmeuse lengthwise and again the other direction, accordian style. I dipped it in 3 different colors – magenta, turquoise and pumpkin.
It is the first fabric in the top photo. I was not happy with the bright fuchsia color and later, I fixed that.
But, first, I wanted to try some shibori. I wrapped a scarf on a pvc pole with cotton string.
I put brown, pumpkin and turquoise in squeeze bottles and dripped the dye on the wrapped silk.
Here is the result of my first Colorhue shibori attempt. You can click on any image to see a larger photo.
Not, bad, but the brown is not brown, it is purple. And there is a lot of white space. I let it dry a bit and brought it back into the dye studio and just poured turquoise dye over it to fill in the white areas. Here is the final scarf which I took in to church today as a class sample and got 3 more sign-ups. It really is very lovely.
Here is the back story on the brown. Ginny Eckley who sells the dyes told me that the brown is a very red brown and to add green and yellow to it to get a better brown, so I will try that next time.
So, I am finished and I have left over dye and dye in the bucket that dripped from the shibori dyeing. What would you do? I threw all the dye into the bucket and immersed the previously dyed pieces.
I grabbed a couple of scarves that were previously dyed – one with acid dyes and one with indigo and rust.
I threw them into the dye soup with this result.
I like how the dye toned down the orange and green,
On this scarf, the dye gave a richer color to the scarf. The original scarf did not get a very strong indigo dye.
Then, I noticed that I had not put the black into the dye soup. Dumped it in and added the original 3 samples which now look like this.
This is so much fun with instant gratification. Next, I want to try Lumiere and Neopaque paint prints with over dyeing, bubble wrap, and fabric tied around a rope.
Last night, Mr C took me out for a fabulous dinner. Tonight we have Scooter school. It was canceled last week because the trainer was sick. Tomorrow, for my birthday, I am going to the dentist in the morning and then to theology class in the evening.
Thank you to every one who is e-mailing and sending greetings. I love my virtual friends.
Took a class using these dyes a couple weeks ago. Did mostly silk screening and then some immersion dying with small pieces of silk. Interesting and much easier than Procion H or MX. Curious about whether the colors fade. Has anyone used these dyes on wool? How did they work?
I see Colorhue is available through Dharma Trading, online. So, is the dye stable?…you used NO fixative or steaming? Is this correct?
When you rinse, is there a residue?
Do you happen to remember Sennelier’s “Silk Color” which was heat set silk dye??? They have discontinued it and it was FABULOUS!
gerrie,
where did you get your colorhue dyes? are they available here in portland?
thanks
nancy
Dear Gerri,
You did well without instructions. After teaching and using Color Hue dyes for years I finally wrote a booklet showing how to mix the dyes. Yes, the brown is really eggplant as Ginny calls it. Just add brown and it turns chocolate brown. Add a touch of black to deepen the brown. But when I put that combo on a silk rayon satin devore the black in the brown turns the rayon blue tones. Interesting.
I also just did a DVD called “Simple Silk Dyeing” to show all the casual shibori techniques I developed with these instant gratification dyes.
The concentrates are intense so as you found they go a long….way.
Ever tried putting bubblewrap under the silk and then spray dyeing? I also have a technique that is fast and easy compared to polewrapping. With a lightweight wet silk like “Paj” or 5.5 mm China Silk you can do wet pleats and spray the tops of the pleats with the Color Hue (1 pipet in a 2 ounce spray bottle is a medium tone, 2 pipet for a darker tone). After spraying until you get the intensity of color you want, open it up.
Love,
Marlene Glickman
I like both versions of the shibori scarf. The white doesn’t bother me but the final version does have more depth.
Happy Birthday Gerrie and thanks for sharing all your wonderful creations. Textile fun is heavenly!
Beautiful, Gerrie!
This looks so fun. I love that you can go back so soon to overdye and play with the colors.
Happy almost birthday!
I love the overdyed scarves. Wishing you a beautiful sunny day on your birthday. Have fun!
I love the overdyeing effect and impsired to pull out some scarves that need tone down. Have a great Bday despite starting at the dentist.
yay!
That looks like a totally fun day!
Very very cool! I have my stuff ready to go, but I need to finish working on a current project before I get sidetracked yet again! I love instant gratification.
they look like so much fun!
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