I wanted to do something "liberal & conservative", so I chose a 4-block profile from the John Landes pattern book and substituted 1/3 vs 3/1 twill for a 16 shaft draft. I spun the cotton on the charkha and wove squares using the handspun singles as weft. After removing them, washing, and cutting them apart, I hemmed them and then tie dyed them in some pretty bright Procion colors. I used just dye powder and warm water, so the EZ Dye accepted the dye and the white warp did not. So you get the formality of the traditional pattern overlaid with the wild tie-dye.
Fun idea, Eileen! The difference in dye take-up is quite striking. So has the EZ Dye fibre been "de-waxed" or something to make it especially receptive to dyestuffs? I haven't encountered this stuff before.
Ruth
Really interesting results Eileen! How does the Procion compare in intensity to the Kool-Aid we played with at MAFA?
I'm going to try some of this stuff!
Su :-)
More than "de-waxed", it's been treated chemically to hold a positive charge, permanently. And you have heard of it before, I think--but not available to spinners & weavers. Or even quilters & knitters yet. You may know it as DyeGrabber to throw in the wash to take up all the excess dye. As usual, here I am on the bleeding edge introducing something new. Remember the reclaimed denim? This should be a lot easier...
From the little surface design test we did, I'd say the more of the Procion stays. But one point doesn't make a line, so it's hard to tell. Also the samples I posted were immersion dyed, not painted, so it's a little apples vs. oranges to contend with. I think we need to work on the painting procedure. I immersion dyed some sliver in Wyler's before the yarn arrived and the color is hot. I'll post some pictures later with a different project.
