I spent such an inspiring day today with 3 incredibly talented fiber artists. My head is spinning with new ideas.
Nancy Bruce dyes anything that stands still. She never tires of experimenting with new products, techniques, and materials. Can you believe this lovely box began as a humble $1.00 satin box? She used a color wash spray dye to transform the fabric and then spent hours embellishing the top with her hand-dyed ribbons, buttons that she 'rusted' to look like antique copper, and beads. Awesome.
Nancy did a demo of this product which knocked my socks off. I've always claimed I wasn't interested in dyeing my own fabrics....I prefer to avoid the mess, the chemicals, and frankly, the hassle. Well.......this stuff may just change my mind. I'll be posting some process shots tomorrow.....so for now......
here's a look at a 'before' and 'after' treatment. Color Wash is water-soluble and works best on polyester-type fabrics (not silk which is a surprise.) It needs to be heat set.
The piece on the right is dyed interfacing. The piece on the left is a section of that piece after Nancy applied a heat gun to its surface. Who'd have thunk? Nancy experiments more than anyone I know......I would never even think of using a heat gun!
I loved this texture....though the photo doesn't do it justice. It's an over-dyed square of inexpensive 'craft' felt which was treated with bursts from a heat gun to achieve the almost lace like appearance. Nancy advises to work outside and perhaps even wear a dust mask as the fumes from the burned polyester may not only be smelly, but harmful as well.
Like I said, she dyes everything......various types of ribbons and laces are transformed by her techniques.More photos to follow......
1 comment:
Interesting. I can't wait to see your process photos. I have several friends who do altered work and I think they'd like to see this. I've never dyed anything either.
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