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Caribbean color, part tres OR, what to do with leftover dye

You can’t just throw out extra dye, you have to use it… it’s an immutable law of nature. So I grabbed a yard of pure white PFD (Prepared for dyeing) fabric and a near-yard of lemon yellow fabric someone gave me, which I wanted to overdye as it was a plain old solid. Here’s how they looked to start:

yellow and white in tub

Then I added dye…. yellow all over (a warm yellow) and let it set and soak for a while. Then I dribbled a blue on one long side and a red on the other long side and let them work their way towards the center. I placed two small pieces of cloth flat on the top, too, to wick up the color. After batching for a while, I poured off the excess dye and added the soda-ask-solution to “fix” the dye. I poured off the excess dye first because I didn’t want it to “float” and homogenize the color. Finally, I washed them out…. here they are in a synthrapol wash in the sink:

washing out the yardage

After rinsing and nearly drying, I ironed them up and put them up on the design wall… I’m in LOVE!
what to do with leftover dye

The fabric on the right is the one which was initially pale lemon yellow. The fabric on the left / underneath is the white fabric. From the difference in tone and shading, I’m guessing the yellow cloth wasn’t mercerized, as the colors aren’t quite as bright… I really like the subtle difference.

I liked them so much I decided I’d dye a dark purple (made from the same three primary dyes) and a pale colorwash version with more turquoise showing on the edge. There’s a quilt in this… I don’t know what or when, but it’s there…..

4 Responses to “Caribbean color, part tres OR, what to do with leftover dye”

  1. Vicki W Says:

    There are really cool pieces! I feel the same way as you – you can’t throw out old dyes. I love doing random experiments like this.

  2. Sue B Says:

    Gorgeous!

  3. Mechelle Says:

    Love the dyed fabric – reminds me of a summer meadow with lots of flowers – Wizard of Oz’ish!! Can’t wait to see what you do with that!

  4. Memphis Mom Says:

    Beautiful. I hope you post the pictures of the purple/aqua batch.