Determining Fibre Content

Unless one is dyeing fabrics there may not be any need to know the fibre content of any fabric. The colours, patterns and the intended use for a particular fabric, are the prime considerations.
In dyeing fabric however, determining the fibre content of any fabric is the first consideration before any fabric hits the dye water. If the right dye for a particular fabric is not used, all will be in vain.
Recently I purchased a piece of fabric labelled linen/polyester. I knew that my dyes (Procion MX) would not touch the polyester but it would be interesting to see what would happen to the linen component. Nilch, nothing, not a hint of colour! Obviously no linen present. This piece of fabric did have a 'linen' look so perhaps that justified its 'linen' classification. All was not lost however, and Plan B had me painting a repeating motif on to this fabric using a textile pigment (see photo below).
Many fabrics in shops of course do have labels stating their fibre content, and proportions if more than one type of fibre is blended in the fabric. However, it is not always quite that simple and standard practice is to burn a small snippet and observe the burning characteristics. I have discovered a good Fiber Burn Chart on www.ditzyprints.com/dpburnchart.html. However, I am not sure when this was written as she states that she carries in her purse a pair of collapsable scissors and a lighter in an old candy tin. Um.... not sure whether I would like to have such items found in my purse at Customs, or anywhere else in fact! At The Fabric Warehouse, Sar Street, Thorndon, Wellington, they have their own cigarette lighter for this very purpose.
Earlier in the blogs I refered to an url to use if you wish to receive this blog as a regular email. This site, despite originally being accessible, seemed to go awol. It is now back, and 'beta' (better) so they say!. Visit http://www.beta.rssfwd.com and follow the three simple instructions. If this site doesn't open by clicking on the url, copy and paste it into your Google search and go from there.


FL16 Painted 'Linen'/Polyester 150cm x 1.4m


And just to be cheerful in this time of early spring. This photo came across the internet. Wouldn't we all like to have roses like these in our gardens!

Next Blog: Vat Dyes, what are they?

Using Your Digital Camera as a Design Tool Part 3

This is the third article on using your digital camera as a design tool. The first posting was about using your camera to record the progress of a project and allowing it to be viewed in another form. The second outlined how an image can be cropped on the screen to assess whether portions would be best removed for the overall benefit of the project. See Archives for these postings. It is now time for Part 3.
In the second posting I showed you a piece of my work which I cropped on the computer. I am sure you will agree that cropping made a huge improvement. I was still concerned about this piece and although I was happy and familiar with the colours I had originally used in dyeing this piece, I was not convinced that they were right. In trying to determine what I might do I printed out a colour image of the cropped piece on to ordinary computer paper. I then mixed some dye colours with water (no chemicals were added) and painted over the coloured print. As the dye water is transparent the image showed through. What this did was to alter all the colours in the coloured print. This was an eureka moment and everything blended together in a far more appealing manner.
It was then a matter of overdyeing the whole piece in an immersion dye bath with the chosen colour. I also thought ahead and dyed some plain white fabric at the same time and this was used to bind the edges. I was finally satisfied with the outcome.
The strong orange colour reminded me of the headwear worn by the Sikhs on their pilgrimages in the lower slopes of the Himalayas which I visited in 2007. The piece is called Out of India and reflects the paths and tracks used for the journey to the shines, and the rest stations along the way.
I am showing the cropped image again in its original colours, and the final piece.

Out of India, cropped, original colours


Out of India, overdyed, 190 x 46cm


A Sikh gentleman in the Himalayas (Ref: Pilgrimage to Hemkunt, Sondeep Shankar)

Next Blog: Determining Fibre Content

The power of a painting

As you may have already gathered I have been in Spain recently. I had a brief stop-over in Madrid and, among many other things, visited the Prado National Museum www.museopradomcu.es. Recognised as one of the world's major art galleries it houses many masterpieces. Two paintings impressed me significantly. One was Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas, 1656, and Francisco de Goya's The Third of May 1808, 1814. Both these paintings are well known and draw an audience of reverent admirers at all times.
These two paintings are huge, and impressive. They have marvellous story lines and, particularly in the case of The Third of May, 1808, the knowledge of what is about to happen in the next second or so, is perhaps its greatest attribute. In Las Meninas the royal family and its servants are informally portrayed and the artist's gaze draws us in to join them. It is considered to be a painting about painting.
I have often viewed these paintings in books, along with many other favourites, but have never taken much notice of the actual size of each although these details are always noted in the captions. Recently I borrowed a book from the Library and came across photos of each. Wow, I have seen these 'in the flesh' as it were, and keenly re-studied them again. This time I noted the sizes. The Las Meninas is 'only' 318 x 276cm, and the The Third of May 1808 is 'only' 266 x 345cm. I say 'only' because I recall these two paintings as being significantly larger than recorded. The paintings hanging nearby were smaller – perhaps this helped to enlarge the two paintings. Perhaps in was just my misconception combined with the importance of these two paintings, that had me seeing larger than reality. Whatever it was that did it, these were memorable powerful moments.
Goya's The Third of May 1808 was displayed in a feature exhibition of his work. It displayed preliminary sketches for his major works, many of which showed the shocking consequences of war and conflict.


The Third of May 1808, Goya, 1814


Las Meninas, 1656, Velázquez

Next Blog: Using your Digital Camera as Design Tool Part 3

Plush Art, what is it?

During the last couple of years I have noticed an appearance of cute, outrageous and sometimes macabre, soft toys. They often represent comic/pop culture and (so they say) offer more soul and character than traditional soft toys and teddies. They appear in exhibitions, magazines and craft shows. I well remember making all sorts of toys for my children when they were young – there just wasn't the multitude of toys available as there are today, and anyway I didn't have the spare cash to spend on what was available at that time. Even now each new grandchild is welcomed with their own individual soft toy.
I am now reading that these toys are categorized as Plush Art. And they are intended for adults, not children. These adults are not ashamed to admit their love of soft toys. They are assembled at kitchen tables, using fabric scraps, recycled materials and anything else that is appropriate for each new character. Soft toys are now being re-invented by artists.
Perhaps the (young) adults of today have not experienced homemade toys in their childhood. Their parents may have been working and there was not enough time to make toys, and so purchased toys satisfied their children's needs.
The majority of our younger generation do not seem to 'know' handcrafts. Handmade items, not just toys, but children's garments and simple home goods, are now being produced by the few who can 'make'. They are marketed as the new, the latest 'thing' and demand high prices. They seem to be not much different to what we did as part of our own family activities many years ago.
I am reluctant to post images of Plush Art because of copyright issues but recommend you visit http://www.crammedorganisms.com I would love to hear your comments (click on Comments below and follow the simple procedure)
Whilst on the subject of 'toys'. In Spain recently I visited the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao. In the forecourt of this futuristic museum is a giant 'toy' dog titled Puppy. It is completely covered in blooms and is part of the Guggenheim's permanent collection. Not a single petal seemed to be bruised or left to settle on the ground beneath. It was constructed by Jeff Koons in 1992 and was exhibited in Germany and Sydney before becoming part of the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum in 1997. This topiary sculpture depicts a West Highland White Terrier and is built over a wire structure. It is 12.4 metres high - note the size of the people in the photo. The buildings behind Puppy are not the Guggenheim Museum htttp://www.guggenheim.org but those across the street.


Brandon Parkes born 8 June 2008 with his stuffed toy

Puppy sculpture at the Guggenheim Muesum, Bilbao, Spain

Next Blog: The power of a painting

Understanding fibre content and its importance when dyeing

I am often asked whether I will dye some fabric, or a garment. Always my first question is 'what is the fibre content of the fabric?' Determining the fibre content of a fabric, if not at first obvious, is best done with the burn test (a future blog topic). Once this is established, the query will often cease at this point, that is, if the fabric is of a synthetic nature. I can only dye natural fibres, these being cotton, silk, rayon, linen in the main. I do not dye wool by choice and leave this to the wool experts.
I prefer to dye lengths of fabric, rather than garments. Garments are risky. Firstly, they have folds and seams which act as resists and, if a previously worn garment, any fading, stains or marks will not be eradicated by over-dyeing. Also most garments are stitched with a synthetic thread which will not take the dye and will remain the original colour of the garment.
I keep a swatch book of pieces dyed using Procion MX Fibre Reactive dyes which are my dyes of choice (lots more about these coming up). When dyeing a new colour or combination of colours for the first time, I add additional pieces of fabrics, one being a cotton and usually a couple of silks. When these have gone through an immersion dye process the differences in their final colouring can be quite interesting. Often it would appear that they have all come from different dye baths. It is the fibre content which is determining their final colour. I now know that my purple dye will produce a cerise on silks, and to get that purple I need to use only a navy and a turquoise. Dyeing is definitely not an exact science but it sure is fun!
Here are two such examples from my swatch book. Each show a cotton, silk, silk/rayon velvet and a silk organza.


Next Blog: Plush Art, what is it?

Personal safety measures when working with dyes and chemicals

I think most people who work with dyes and chemicals these days are pretty aware that personal health precautions are the norm. All dye books devote a chapter to this topic and tutors should be passing on warnings. Each individual has to weigh up how often they use dyes and the amount of risk. As I am a regular user of dyes I rate the risk factor highly.
Starting with the air I breath. I use those simple white face masks for one-off handling of dye powders, and measure everything in an enclosed dye box. When handling a series of dye powders I use an industrial face mask which covers both my nose and mouth. This mask is definitely not a fashion statement, looks uncomfortable although I am now used to it. It has two sets of replaceable filters, one for dust and the other for vapours (discharge techniques). When not in use I store this in a sealable container so as to extend the life of the filters.
To cover my hands I use disposable gloves for smaller fiddly jobs, but when immersion dyeing larger lengths of fabric I use industrial gloves (available from any hardware store). These come well up my arms, and allow me to slide my hands in and out without struggling. I recently used my current pair to protect myself when pruning the roses and consequently I got a hole in them, resulting in one brightly coloured finger during the next dyeing episode! I will now purchase another pair and relocate the old ones to the garden department.
To protect my clothes I have a strong vinyl apron which I purchased at the Surface Design Association (SDA) conference in Kansas City, MO http://www.surfacedesign.org
I use equipment specifically reserved for dyeing (no kitchen stuff) and am lucky enough to have a well-ventilated studio space to work in.
Next Blog: Understanding fibre content and its importance when dyeing


Me ready to take on the dyeing world....


And this is how I feel... with all due respects to this lovely Spanish donkey who hee-hawed with great gusto when our group of NZer's passed by http://www.lifestylejourneys.co.nz

Using Your Digital Camera as a Design Tool, Part 2

One of the many benefits of taking digital images of any work in progress, is that there is the ability to view and crop works on the computer. Simply putting the image of the work up on the screen gives the opportunity to assess progress away from the work itself. This will probably be of a different scale to the actual work but does allows for a 'fresh eye' assessment. If the composition is somewhat in doubt, try cropping/trimming off some of the areas and viewing the work again. Save each of the cropped images so that you can return and assess them again. This is much easier than trying to mask off areas, re-arrange, and perhaps try and return to possibility number two. You may find that by removing a portion, the whole piece comes together more successfully.
The same process may be used when you have decided that a work is just about there. Sometimes the raw unfinished edges, yet to be bound or framed and with the wall/background behind the image, can be very distracting. Crop them out and view the work again as a completed work.
The images here show a piece I was having grave difficulties with (I cringe at showing this piece but I did promise to show some 'warts'). As a result of cropping this piece on screen I sliced off the sides and then felt it might just have a future (with some perseverance this piece did survive and I will show you the completed piece in Part 3 of Using your Digital Camera as a Design Tool).
The final image is of a Silk Jacquard fabric length completed this week – all techniques used will be profiled in due course.
With reference to my Blog of last week: the http://www.rssfwd.com website which allows you to receive this Blog as an email after each posting seems to be contrary at times, but it does work, when it opens up! An alternative is http://www.feedblitz.com Open up Solutions on their top bar and choose Subscribers. You can read all about their service and register.


Oh dear!!


That's better...


FL4 Silk Jacquard 115cm x 1.9 metres; soya wax, cold-batch dyeing and discharge.

Next Blog: Personal safety measures when working with dyes and chemicals