Friday, December 16, 2005

Dyeing fabric


Back of Tied fabric

This is the fabric dyeing I have been doing. This was a 3.5 metre long x 35cm wide piece and its entirely tied. It took my almost three days as I managed to graze the skin of my left forefinger and middle finger- as the elastic of the ties twangs across the top knuckle on the last tie and also on my right fore finger. The actual piece that it creates is really interesting texturally- it is quite thick and pliable- the back looks really interesting and I have it in mind to use something like this in a project in the future- it's very dimensional , and something you want to touch. My children have the same reaction to it. It is almost a pity to take the ties off once the next dyeing stage is done. I also love the way the little ties look- like people in a crowd. One day I will do something with that idea as well, but then I would have to dye the fabric first and tie after so that the tops would be a different colour to the rest. I hope to finish the construction of the quilt top today so I can quilt all weekend and get it finished by Monday afternoon.Posted by Picasa

2 comments:

Deb Lacativa said...

They beg to be touched. I had one made up much like this, not as abitiously dense though. I had dipped in a deep yellow and while it was still damp, dragged a cloth wet with greenish black over the surface. I could kick myself for not taking a picture and it's long since hacked up and gone..

Linda B. said...

I saw a lovely piece by Michelle Griffiths a couple of years ago. She had tied her fabric around screws with large heads. I don't know what process she had then used but the form of the screw heads had remained in the fabric. As I recall she had then coloured the fabric with car spray paint - her work was part of a 'Six in the Garden' exhibit - http://www.sixart.co.uk/SiXintheGarden.htm

Linda