Shell drawings and Inspiration

Disperse Dyes

Natures Elements

I have chosen to base my project around natures elements. There is a lot about the natural world that fascinates me, so why not use this fascination to create something new?

I have had a hard time deciding what part of nature I want to focus on. I first thought of water and sea life but then went onto look at the details in leaves and wood.

With my embroidery and textile techniques I've not been extremely confident so when deciding whether to create a textural piece or something stylised was quite hard. I then decided to progress in my work by having a look into colours. 

I separated my ideas into colour themes:

Wood and Leaves: Greens, Browns and Beiges

Project Themes

Urban Textile Art

Whilst browsing through the web I came across a wonderful article based around 5 urban textile designers. 

Before reading the article my mind was fairly closed to the prospect of urban knitting and textiles. I can confirm my views have definitely changed. Now I am looking at thread from a whole new angle. 

Taking a look into the 'yarn bombing' I have found a brand new prospect of looking at political works. I feel that there is so much violence on the streets of to day as well as corruption and much more. In the past I have felt that new ways of putting messages across have been highly saturated and fairly unnoticed. But seeing this colourful alternative It has most certainly restored hope.

I have always enjoyed knitting, braiding and (fairly recently) stitching. So using this highly personalised work to demonstrate against problems with today is quite innovative.

Juliana Santacruz Herrera's colourfully braided fabric, set into the potholes of roads in paris is just one amazing vision. I love how she has carefully considered this constant state of disrepair as her canvas. She has seen damage that will most likely not be repaired for a long time and filled it with bright colour which will certainly not go unnoticed. It highlights the things people genuinely forget about/look over. 

http://www.textileartist.org/5-urban-textile-artists/

Can you imagine a city where all of its disrepair is highlighted with beautifully coloured pieces of fabric cushioning those sharp and unsightly edges?

Aqua Span/Puff Binder

Porcion Dye

Important Information

• PROCION DYES are Fibre-reactive dyes for natural fabrics and usually comes in powder form. 
• It's Particularly effective on cellulose based fibres (eg cotton, linen, viscose) and can be lighter and less predictable on wool and silk. 
• Procion dyes produce Bright, clean, permanent colours. 
• Colours are intermixable, and one colour can be dyed over another.
• considered non-toxic when used correctly, but a face mask and gloves are recommended.
• Keep records of quantities and proportions if colours have to be reproduced.

Procion Auxiliaries

UREA

hygroscopic agent to keep moisture in the fibres which is necessary for the setting process. Not necessary for bucket-dye method.

CALGON

neutralises the metallic salts of tap-water. Particularly necessary in hard water
areas, though worth using everywhere to increase the dye uptake. Available easily and cheaply from the supermarket.

SODA ASH, WASHING SODA or BICARB

causes a chemical reaction in the presence of heat and moisture to fix the dye. Washing soda and bicarb are available from the supermarket.

METAPEX or SYNTHRAPOL

detergent which prevents colour contamination during the rinse process by consolidating the remaining dye so that it will not set into other areas while rinsing. Also can be used to scour the fabric prior to dyeing instead of standard detergents.

MANUTEX or SODIUM ALGINATE

a thickening agent to convert Procions into a paste for direct painting, screen- or block-printing. In powder form.

SUPERCLEAR

a thickener based on tannins, available already made up in a jar.

There are several ways to dye a fabric using Procion dye i.e bucket dying, painting directly and using a washing machine. You can also produce a thick paste for printing and painting.

Bucket Dying

Work on the basis of about 5gms (roughly one teaspoon) of dyepowder for strong colour on 100gms dry fabric. Use proportionally less powder for lighter shades.

• Weigh dry fabric and then wash to remove fabric dressing, dirt or grease.
• Fill a container with enough hot water to comfortably cover the fabric and allow for movement through stirring eg 3 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket.
• For every 3 gallons of water add about 400gms ordinary salt. Add the dye powder.
• When both completely dissolved, add wet fabric and stir for 20mins.
• In separate container dissolve 100-200gms soda ash/washing soda for every 3 galls of water in dye bath.
• When completely dissolved add to the dyebath one-third at a time at 5 min intervals, stirring as you add it. DO NOT POUR DIRECTLY ONTO FABRIC.
• Continue stirring every 5mins over the next 50mins for strong colours. Reduce this time if you require lighter shades.
• Remove from dyebath and rinse in cold water until clear. Finally wash in hot water with detergent or Synthrapol. Rinse and dry.

Direct painting

In advance, make up a 1litre bottle of Chemical Water, and a 1litre bottle of Washing Soda Water (recipes below). These can be kept more or less indefinitely, ready for when you need them for making up small quantities of dye for painting.

• CHEMICAL WATER RECIPE
  Dissolve 36tsps (about 180-200gms) UREA, and 1tsp CALGON in 1Litre warm water.
• WASHING SODA/SODA ASH WATER
  Dissolve 500gms Washing Soda
  OR
  200gms Soda Ash
  into 1Litre hot water.

Thick paint/paste

Option 1:
Sprinkle 9tsps MANUTEX powder or 4.5tsps SODIUM ALGINATE powder over the 1Litre Chemical Water. Whisk until smooth. Let stand for one hour then stir. Leave in fridge overnight. Once made up the thickened chemical water will keep for one month if stored in a cool,dark place. Add to the dye powder in the palette with the WASHING SODA WATER as for the above recipe.
Option 2:
Make up the dye solution in the palette as for FREE FLOWING COLOUR.
Add SUPERCLEAR to the solution. Superclear is a thickener that is available in a jar ready to add when you want it. It can be added in proportions as desired - a little to reduce the flow of the colour, more to stop the flow as for block-printing.
In either case, treat the completed fabric as for FREE FLOWING COLOUR to fix the colour.
Experiment with mixing and blending colours. Dye and over-dye fabric. Use brushes, sponges or foam brushes to apply colour. Drop colour onto fabric using nozzle-bottles, pipettes and syringes. Paint or drop over tied or wax-resisted fabric. Use print-blocks with thickened dye.

http://www.artvango.co.uk/products/techniques/procion-dyes.html

How to Devore

To devore a fabric you will need to use a DEVORANT PASTE on a MIXED FIBRE FABRIC.

Suitable fabrics are:

Suitable fabrics are:

• undyed silk/viscose velvet
• black silk/viscose velvet
• silco (50% silk 50% cotton)
• silk/viscose satin

The devorant burnsout viscose and plant fibres and leaves behind other fibres intact such as polyester and animal fibres i.e. silk and wool.

It is important to remember:

• always wear rubber gloves, the paste contain corrosive compounds and can cause burns and/or can be a respitory irritant. Use with caution.
• Depending on the make of the devorant the measurement may be different. Follow the mixing requirement carefully.
• Always work in a well ventilated area- ironing will release an acrid vapour

1. stir mixture until completely mixed together. The mixture can be kept air tight for up to 8 days but once liquid will no longer have the desired effect.
2. Working from the back of the fabric, the devorant can be applied using a brush, stamps, through a silk screen, using screen printing techniques, or from an applicator bottle.
3. Leave the devorant to dry completely. A hair dryer can be used to speed drying
4. Place a cloth between the piece of work and the sole plate of the iron. Iron the dried work on the reverse (the side on which the devorant was applied) on a cotton/wool setting without steam. Iron until a yellowish colour appears on the treated areas.
5. Finally soak the fabric in warm soapy water and rinse. The devorant should now have removed the cellulose fibres.

You can purchase home brands such as Dupont Devorant and Fibre Etch.

Find more information at: http://www.georgeweil.com/fact_file/Devore.aspx