ExTex 2 - Weekend 6 - Dyeing and transfer printing

Transfer printed polyester satin.

The weekend saw me teaching the 6th weekend of Experimental Textiles at The Old Needleworks in Redditch. The weekend was a colour fest. On the Saturday we used procion dyes to colour natural fabrics and on Sunday we used disperse dyes (transfer paints) to colour synthetic fabric. The whole point of the course is to develop the students confidence in themselves and all the basic skills so they can work independently. 

As a textile artist it is very important to know how to colour your own fabrics, be they natural or synthetic. This is one very important way to help your work look different to everyone elses. The group already know how to create original designs and make printing blocks of their own designs.

The girls dying natural fabrics in plastic bags.

 

 

 Bags of colourful opportunity.

 I will be able to show you what the girls produced from their fabrics after the next session in mid November. The fabrics needed to be rinsed well, dried and ironed.

Disperse dyes colour synthetic fabric permanently once the dyes have been ironed or heat pressed onto the synthetic fabric. They are also called 'transfer paints' as the dyes are painted onto paper, and once the designs are dry, they are transfered to the fabric by heat. We used a heat press but you can transfer the colour very easily with a hot iron, it just takes a bit longer. Always use baking parchment between your iron and the transfer print!!

The group painted up their paper with the dyes first thing on Sunday as they take time to dry. We used copy paper to paint onto. Any paper that isnt porous will do, you want the dye to come off the paper, not sink into it.

 

 

 The girls painting their designs.

Here are some of the designs ironed/heat pressed off.

 

  

   

 Painting through a stencil.

  . . . and using resists . . .

  

The resists can also be printed with as they collect dye when being used as a resist.

 

This was doiley cut an placed by Mary.

 Disperse dyes are translucent and you can usually get at least 2 if not 3 prints off the same piece of paper. This is great for over lapped and shadow prints.

 

 

 

Various layers of print and resist.

So you can see we had a great time playing with colour. I will post about the homework from the previous months weekend before I leave for Dublin on Friday. There is a lot to show you. . . .

There is lots of dashing about to do before I leave and a lecture to deliver in Basingstoke on Thursday so I must get organised - well I can try!!!!

Happy Tuesday! 

x x x