Flour Paste Resist - Fabric Dyeing

On Valentine's Day I did something I LOVE. I played in my friend Louise Schotz's Outback Studio. We did two different dying techniques. Snow dyeing and Flour Paste Resist Dyeing. Here is a quick tutorial on the flour paste resist technique.

1st we prepared our fabrics for dyeing by soaking them in a water and soda ash mixture. Then drying and pressing the fabric.

We then mixed flour and water to a pancake batter consistency.

The batter was poured onto the fabric.

And then rolled with a brayer until it was thin and smooth.

Louise had covered her tables in plastic and we laid out the wet fabric to dry.

You can draw on the wet flour mixture to create a design. And as shown here you can do it on plain or previously dyed fabric.

Here are two more examples the one on the right was made using a rubber stamp method.

As the fabric dries it starts to distort and the edges curl up.

Here Chris starts drying pieces with a hair dryer.

Louise is extra excited about getting to the next step and is using the double fisted drying method.

I forgot to get a photo of the most important NEXT step. And that is . . .  when the fabric is nice and dry. Crispy actually, you crunch it up in a ball. This forces the flour paste to crack creating the design. Don't worry if you can't see the cracks, they are very fine.

Next, mix acrylic paint and water together for a somewhat watery consistency. The thinner it is the more it fills the cracks. You can experiment with this. We did!

Here the acrylic paint is being painted on top of the flour mixture.

I couldn't wait . . .  I had to peek!

Chris holds up one of our first results!

After the paint dries you soak the fabrics and remove the excess paint and the four paste. Then toss the fabrics in the washer and dryer (or hang to dry) and press. Below are more of the results of the day!

Are you ready?

Ta Da . . .

Today, I tried another variation. I used whole wheat flour with a handful of steel cut oatmeal into the mix. Stay tuned for the results.

I'll also be posting the snow dyeing photos shortly.

Be creative, play and have fun!

You can now purchase these hand dyes at the Textile Alchemist.

Gelatin Printing

Gelatin printing was the most fun I have had in a long time! I spent the day with my friend Lucy Senstad and her sister Joannie. Lucy showed us how to gelatin print. I have included a video from YouTube below if you want to see the process, there are many more videos available too, so have a look and then give this a try . . . I loved it!!!

To see some of Lucy's and my print work please visit - Artful Drygoods.

Fabric Yo Yo's - Learn How!

Make Yo Yo's the classic way by visiting this site for instructions.
How to Sew a Basic Fabric Yo-Yo.

or watch this YouTube Video and see Pat Sloan demo the new Clover Yo Yo maker.

How to Paper Piece - Helpful Resources

Click here for Tutorial and Free Pattern  
"How to Paper Piece"
from www.youcanquiltthis.com 
Or
Click here for Christine Thresh's Paper Piecing Primer
 Or
Watch the video below 

Fabric Bead making day . . .

Today I created fabric beads . . .

I will be using these beads to embellish the bags I am making using the Whispering Woods collection that I mentioned yesterday. (Robert Kaufman)

Below, is a photo of how I start. I used left over strips of fabric from the quilts I made last week and fused the wrong side of the fabric to a double sided fusible web. Leaving a 1/2" of fabric at the end with no fusible on it. This prevents your stick from getting all gooey . .

Cut through the fabric and the fusible paper, creating strips the width that you want your bead to be.
You can roll the entire 8.5" length for a fat bead, or cut it in half for a smaller bead. Below are examples of the two lengths and the size bead they create.

Roll the end that doesn't have any adhesive on it around the end of a bamboo skewer or a similar stick. Keep rolling to the end of the fabric.

Now hold the bead up against a hot iron and roll it slowly until it adheres together. If the bead feels soft, just heat it a little more. It should be fairly stiff when your done.


Well, here is my stash of beads, buttons and fabric beads ready for embellishing, now I need to get going on the bags!


PS. The beads in the top photo are made the same way, the fabric strips are cut into a long narrow triangle rather than the straight strip as shown here.

Stay posted to see the applications . . .

Laundry day = Playday with Shiva Paintstiks

Today is laundry day . . . and if you remember from my earlier 'Artist Studio Posts',
my artwork, painting (messy work) area is in my laundry room.
So instead of laundry day being a : (
it's a : )
because I can just hibernate in my laundry room all day and play.

Today I used one of my old rubber stamps that I had carved for another purpose, and used it to do rubbings on fabric. I mostly used Shiva Paintstiks, but also roller printed a few pieces with fabric paint.

All of the fabrics shown are from Robert Kaufman and they all coordinate or belong to Sandra Banava's, Whispering Woods collection.

As you can see . . . I have varied the colors of the paintstiks as well as the background fabric, which makes for an endless variety of outcomes. Some work better than others . . . but you have to try lots of things to find out what works for you.







Stay posted because I will be using some of these in bags I'll be creating with the Whispering Woods Collection from Sandra Banava!

Indygo Dyeing with Winnie Johnson at Woodland Cottage

I just spent the afternoon at Woodland Cottage with a lovely group of women learning about Indygo Dyeing! Woodland Cottage is a Bed & Breakfast that specializes in textile activities, scrapbooking or candle making.


The dyeing shed is out back. Here we gathered around with our yarns and fabrics waiting our turn for the dye bath that Winnie had prepared ahead of time.


We are starting to get some of the items out of the bath which are then hung to dry.


This is a silk scarf and a 1/2 yard of cotton muslin, knotted and tied and going into the bath.


When the fabrics come out they are not indigo, but a shade of green. The dye bath itself is actually yellow.


After hanging out in the air the color changes to beautiful shades of blue.



We took a short break to meet Winnie's sheep. Winnie is also a spinner and weaver!


Here are more results of this fantastic day of dyeing!





Thanks for a delightful day, and special thanks to Betty for the invitation. Great Fun!

If you are interested in finding out more about Woodland Cottage, for quilting, weaving, spinning and more be sure to check out their website. They offer classes or you can bring your own projects.

P.S. - Do you remember my post about Winnie's Mothers Vintage Scraps? I posted it on Saturday, March 22, 2008. Well, yes, this is the same Winnie. Fun to meet up again after all these years!