Mark Rothko inspired work

I did two different pieces on one length of fabric that were inspired by Mark Rothko. I love this artist’s use of color. I’m planning to make two throw pillows. Here’s one pillow:

And here’s the other:

Another potato dextrin

For my first silk painting piece, I used gutta. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with gutta, but this one didn’t turn out too bad. I finished the orange edge with potato dexrin.

How to make a dress form

Found this great link. Check it out.

Also working on some canvas placemats. Pictures will be posted soon!

Sashiko pants

My husband had some holes on his jeans and asked me to patch them up. So I dyed some canvas indigo and stitched on the patches using sashiko, in traditional Japanese style.

Finished product (finally!)

The potato dextrin allows you to dye the fabric with a beautiful web of color. I just love the cracks that form - so beautiful.

You may remember that I did some shibori stitching on the corners and only applied the potato dextrin to the center of the scarf, leaving the ends light pink with shibori swirls.

Doesn’t look bad on either. :)

Steaming process

Now that the thickened dye is dry, you have to steam the fabric. The steaming process not only sets the color, but also loosens the potato dextrin from the fabric.

Bundle up the fabric in newspaper - making sure that it is not touching itself. You want it to be completely wrapped in newspaper before starting to bundle it up because you don’t want the dye to run. Place the bundle in a steamer pot (not one you use for food) and wrap the lid with a towel so that the bundle doesn’t get water dripped on it. (The bundle should be warm and slightly damp when you take it out, not wet.) If it does get wet, the dye might run and make a mess.

I placed a weight on top of the lid just to make sure the seal was nice and tight. Steam for 30 minutes.

When unwrapping the bundle, make sure you’re in a well-ventilated area. Wash the fabric in cold water first MAKING SURE NONE OF THE POTATO DEXTRIN GOES DOWN THE DRAIN. Use one of those mesh catchers in the sink and dispose of the potato dextrin in the trash. After rinsing in cold water to remove all the potato dextrin, wash the fabric in synthrapol. If it feels a bit stiff to the touch, soak it in vinegar water for a while and wash in synthrapol again. That should do the trick. Iron while damp for a crisp finish.

Remember this…

blog post? Well, I was finally able to get back to it!

Once the potato dextrin was (thoroughly) dry, I made some thickened paste and added the dye and soda ash (fixative) to it. I apply this mixture onto the potato dextrin with a sponge brush so I can really get in between the cracks.

Make sure to check if the dye is actually getting all the way through to the fabric and not just sitting on top of the potato dextrin by unpinning the fabric and checking the back.

Continue this process until you’ve covered all the potato dextrin with the thickened dye. After you’re finished you have to wait several days for the thickened dye to dry.