Dyed and Gone to Heaven

There are a lot of fabric dyeing formulas out there and many books published on the subject, Lots of teachers offer instruction. My favorite method is a serendipitous method arrived at when I needed to used up leftover dye.

Starting with a piece of white fabric is my fav but I have been also know to do this over "bad dye jobs."

1. Soak the fabric in a soda ash mix for about 15 minutes. Use the same soda ash you have been using to dye fabric. (9T to a gallon of water). 
2. Whether you use this soaked fabric wet or dry alters the outcome but either is OK. On the wet fabric the dye blends more, on the dry fabric, the dye stays put. I usually use the wet version as it also saves time.
3. I load these pieces in freezer baggies. How you stuff them in makes a difference to the outcome. A tight wad lets less dye into the center...
4. I make dye in squeeze bottles and find it very useful to then just squirt some onto the fabric in the baggies.
5. I mush it around some, peak at it in about 15 minutes and rearrange it if there is too much white and then squirt some more. You could also squirt a different color at this time. 
6. Let it sit for an hour or a day or just when you can get back to it and be surprised at the mostly lovely outcomes.

I find this so much more appealing than dying flat colors. I could buy Kona if flat was the result I had in mind. This is an example: a combo of orange ( red and golden yellow) and brown. It makes my heart sing. Try it, you'll like it.

Linking to Nina-Marie