It’s dye week in my new workspace, and I’m thrilled to be back in the studio! Isn’t it pretty? But I soon discover that the habit of years of dyeing fabric and thread in this space needs to be adjusted. First, I need to be cleaner.
I really want to keep the floors and cabinets free of dye stains. A patchwork of old towels covers my cute penny tiles on the floor. The tabletop is draped with layers of plastic, the old canvas from my previous worktable, and gussied up with a fresh cotton drop cloth.
All my dye equipment is taken out of storage, and I begin by mixing dye stock.
The dyes are Procion MX fiber reactive dyes, perfect for dyeing cotton fabrics and threads. My method is to weigh the dye powder (30 grams), measure the water (1000 mils), and mix them in a blender. Using this formula, I can get repeatable color and recreate the colorways of fabric and thread you see in the Artfabrik Store.
These plastic bottles are just the right size to hold the dye stock. (Yes, we drink a lot of orange juice.) Today I’m mixing colors ranging from lemon yellow to bright blue to fuchsia and beyond. This dye stock will last about a week and hopefully with be enough color to replenish the Artfabrik thread colorways.
One more thing.
I always wear protection.
More of dye week coming up. Be prepared to get messy!