There are as many methods of fabric dyeing as there are teachers; essentially, they fall into two categories
- Explore Playfully
- Experiment Scientifically
Explore Playfully – probably the best-known proponent of this method is Ann Johnston –http://annjohnston.net/
Her books: Color by Accident: Exploring Low-Water Immersion Dyeing and Color by Design: Paint and Print with Dye are excellent references.
These are a great place to start, particularly if you want to produce some beautiful fabric and are not concerned about being able to reproduce it. Dye is measured in teaspoons and tablespoons.
Experiment Scientifically – this approach uses the original formulas created at ICI and published in their instructional manuals. The lady credited with being the source of these formulas is Elin Noble, who for many years, managed the dye laboratory at Pro Chemical & Dye.
Her book: Dyes & Paints – A Hands-On Guide to Coloring Fabric is an excellent reference.
I think most people start exploring playfully; once you are hooked, you want to experiment scientifically.
The Scientific Method involves weighing your fabric and weighing your dye powder. Sounds tedious, I know, but is not really. If you know the weight of 1m of your fabric, and continue to use the same fabric, you only have to weigh it once. If you use dye solutions, you only need to weigh out the dyes you want to use once in a dyeing session or even less often if you refrigerate your dye concentrate solution. This method gives consistent, excellent results that are easily reproduced. You will also find that you use less dye powder to get the same intensity of colour. There is much less excess dye left after batching and therefore you use much less water in the washing-out process, after batching.
It is the method we will use in this Fabric2Dye4 workshops – Low-Water Immersion dyeing. All of the maths has already been done for you.
