Suminagashi Dyeing on Fabric - part 2

Sue O. adds dyes to the large tray of water
June 2017

Friday's post was about the experience of Suminagashi Dyeing, and today explains how the large panels of fabric were dyed.

once Sue O. had added all the ink that she wanted, the fabric was
carefully placed on top of the ink-covered water

Lorre H. assists Sue O. to makesure the fabric is straight and in the tray

allowing the fabric to take up the ink 

revealing the dyed panel
The panel was rinsed in plain water after it was removed from the tray.

Important Note: our instructor purchased cotton sheeting for the class and treated it with alum before the class so that it would take up the dye and so that the dye would adhere to the fabric. The fabric MUST be pre-treated.

the ink - purchased on Amazon

Suminagashi Dyeing on Fabric - part 1

Lorre H. demonstrates the technique of adding
ink to the tray of water
June 2017

Sue O. and Nancy S. took advantage of a Suminagashi class (also known as Japanese Marbling) last week at the Lander Art Center. It was a lot of fun and resulted in some interesting results.

adding layers of color on top of the water

The marbling ink is placed on top of the water in layers. The layers can carefully be manipulated to create swirls or pools of color.

ink floating on top of the water

fabric placed on top of the ink-covered water

dyed fabric after rinsing and pressing

The colors were quite vivid when they were wet, but once dried and pressed, they became muted.

Nancy's  collection of suminagashi dyed fabric squares
June 2017

Others in the class were more artistic with their squares.

rinsed dyed fabric squares 

completed squares

large panel of dyed fabric

Of all the fabric that was dyed that evening, this piece was by far a favorite. More photos on Monday . . .