Hi from BC (canada) :)

[pburch]

So, how about telling us where to look?

Here, let's see if this works, with your new picture:


Is that your first try? It looks good! How did you do it?

Paula

[tiedyejudy]

Wow!  That's really beautiful!  I'm with Paula, tell us how you did it!

Judy

[Sevda]

Yup. my first try! This is the thing....I painted with bleach first, and because I was so excited with the results I got the dyes out and painted right away. Then I thought...oh crap, I better use the bleach stop. So, needless to say some of the color came out.  So I painted over it again. I used rasberry and turquoise dye, and I just loved the way the colors moved into each other.

I did a painting on a plain white Tshirt too and it was amazing to watch that the 2nd color went only where the first color was! I know...a newbie :-Deverything's amazing, but it opens up sooo many possibilities. My brain is on overload with all the things I'm going to do. I have to admit though I really like the way the bleach turned out better on the black than starting with white....until I try batik...hehe Then I will take over the world!! ( please note....I'm kidding!! )

[tiedyejudy]

Warning!  This stuff can become addicting!  (not kidding!)  But it's okay, creativity is a very healthy addiction!  And we're all going to learn from you as you experiment and share!

Have fun,

Judy

[pburch]

You know, Sevda, you were lucky to get a black that discharged to white, your very first try. Many - most? - commercially dyed black garments on the market won't discharge all the way to white, but instead produce some peculiarly old-looking shade of burgundy or rust or brown, which can be interesting but makes it hard to overdye just the colors you want, or even just stay black.

Even when you find a garment that discharges perfectly, and buy more of it on a regular basis, all will go well for a number of months or even years, and then, suddenly, the manufacturer starts using a different dye, without telling you, and the discharging gives different effects than you are used to. So, this is just a warning not to invest in a truckload of some particularly pleasing black clothing blank, only to discover that the results change.

When you start dyeing your own stuff black, you'll find that there are several different black mixtures in the Procion MX line, but all are mixtures of different colors. Some of the dyes in the mixture discharge better than others, so the different mixtures produce different colors when you discharge them. They won't discharge to white. They tend to spread out into different colors when you apply the dye directly, which can be nice-looking in itself but is a major pain when what you want is BLACK.

If you want a true black that stays black when you do LWI dyeing, or that discharges nearly to white, the best option is to use a specific fiber reactive dye from an entirely different line of dyes, the Remazol or Vinyl Sulfone dyes. You can use it on the same garments as Procion MX dyes; there's no need to invest in the entire line of Remazol dyes when you just want a perfect black. You can buy this black dye from PRO Chemical & Dye as Liquid Reactive Black LR604, or from any supplier of Jacquard Red Label Dyes (I think Dharma might special order it for you) as Jacquard Red Label Silk Color Black B. (Even though they tend to sell it as a silk color, I use it mostly on cotton, with soda ash and a little extra heat.)

Paula

[Sevda]

You know, Sevda, you were lucky to get a black that discharged to white, your very first try.

Don't I know it! That's why I'm thinking if I do anything to it first..like the soda ash...it may not have the same results. I was stunned when it came out that ight. It's not actually white, but a yellow. Even still it's a LOT loser than I was expecting. I'm thinking I mat have to go and buy another couple of bolts, hoping that their dye lot was the same. I made the pants too, in case I'm confusing anyone. So not only am I creating the pattern, I am manufacturing the garments as well. I get what I want that way!

I do a lot of costume making(for exotic dancers), that is my main income, but there are a lot of places closing down, so my market is narrowing. So, I am looking for something else. Being creative is what I do best, and I really enjoyed my brief stint(2 months) at college taking a textile dying course.

I learned a bit, but not enough. I was tooo busy to stay in school. I have 3 kids, a husband, and a business to run. Not sure what made me think I had time for school too. sheesh!

So far the reaction I am getting with my first attempt at those pants is encouraging. I just hope, like you said that I can still get that same fabric, and that the bleach doesn't kill said fabric. *sigh*

[pburch]

It's very handy that you're making your own clothing. I wish I liked to sew.

It's the dye itself that will or will not bleach; soda ash (unlike most cleaners) should be fine when you're bleaching. Lots of dyes just won't discharge. Every bolt of apparently identical fabric may be completely different with respect to dye content. When you go to buy black fabric to discharge, put some bleach in a small bottle, or buy a Clorox Bleach Pen. Take a tiny snip of a sample from a bolt before you buy it - ask for a sample, I guess - and go out in the parking lot. Test the sample by putting blach on it. Buy a particular bolt of fabric only if it discharges well.

I think you can also return an entire uncut bolt to the store for a refund if it's not right. It's only after you cut it that they don't want to take it back (with good reason). Just be sure to do a test on a tiny snip before it's too late to return it.

Paula

[mysticmountainsmama]

Welcome Neighbour! I'm in BC too. I like the batik effect on the pants, reminds me of a tatoo... but the design of them, the cut is also fantastic, they must be great for dancing or just walking. They look comfy. Were you trying to re-create the pant too because you could do some great tie dying on pants you sewed up...Hope it works out for you !!

[Sevda]

Thanks Paula, that's a good idea about the sample. I have to admit, I'm quite excited about this whole project! Tie dye seems to be very popular right now, and not a lot of people do it I think. I think my techniques will be very different than anything else too. Even the pants that i was "inspired" by. 

The fabric that I am using is a really comfy cotton/lycra blend. I've got a nice eggplant color that discharges really nicely too. I'm going to try the browns, and add a turquoise, because those combinations are really hot in fashion right now.

I have been really thinking about a store, but the thought of overhead costs scare me to death! I'm working out of my home now, but I don't really want 'joe public' traipsing through my house. I think I'm going to try and convert my garage into a dye shop. The weather is extremely mild here, and we hardly ever get to 0 (that would be in celcius for my US readers) It hardly ever snows, but we get TONS of rain in the winter...very depressing actually. A local joke here, is that we don't tan...we rust. 

[LiveFreeorDye]

I have used Citrisolv to remove wax from cotton jersey. I had a dress that I was waxing for batik, but the wax ran all over and messed up the design, so I wanted to remove it. It was awhile ago, but I think I soaked paper towels in the Citrisolv and used that to get off the wax. There was very little hand left on the fabric, but I never tried dying over it, though. I planned to, but never got to it.

Of course, Citrisolv itself can be expensive, but I had bought a gallon jug from my food co-op.

take it easy

Sue