Today I am dyeing some fabric using two different shibori techniques. One technique involves wrapping fabric around a plastic chain. The other technique is wrapping fabric around a PVC pipe. I have learned most of my dyeing techniques from Ann Johnston’s books and DVD. She is a true master with dye and natural fabrics.
I have started a quilt with jellyfish on it. I recently took a class at QSDS with Sue Benner, another master in dyeing and quilting. She taught us Expressive Dye Painting. After I came home, I made some monoprints using Sue’s techniques. I was quite happy with some of them and started this quilt. Now I am dyeing some more fabric to use with the monoprints. I am also experimenting with putting dye on polyester organza. There is no way it will fix on the polyester fabric. I may not use it on the quilt because of that.
An important lesson I learned from Sue Benner is to record your color mixes. Since I decided to dye more fabric in the same color scheme that I had used last week, I could never have reproduced those colors without a record.
Here are some photos of my work.
Jane Hartfield Fiber Artist 