Tag Archives: fiber arts

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Hand Dyed Fabrics – The Waiting Game!

I recently took a couple of Craftsy classes on hand dyeing fabric and patterning fabric using wax resists. Today I got to try out a batch of hand dyed fabrics. You have to wait 24 hours before you get to see how they turn out. I keep counting the hours on my fingers, but alas, it’s not tomorrow yet! I’m still waiting for my electric skillet to arrive, so I couldn’t try out the wax resists just yet, but there were more than enough techniques to try out this time around.

Hand Dyed Fabric - Manipulations

The instructor for the hand dyed fabric class was Jane Dunnewold. She did a great job of explaining the whole process! This class was exactly what I hoped it would be. I used Pimatex cotton and Procion MX Fiber reactive dyes. My end goal is to use these hand dyed fabrics in my own quilts. I tried out almost all of the manipulations she suggested in the course (the ones I had the supplies for), and I tried a few of my own as well. The possibilities seem endless with this process, especially once I’m able to add wax resist to the mix.

Batching

I bought 8 colors of dye, so I made up a little cup of each one. This will be a test run to see how each of the colors turn out, and then I can start playing with mixing colors.

Batching

It’s all a bit of an experiment, but I can’t wait to see how they turn out. I can’t wash them out until mid-day tomorrow…15 hours to go! (This is not a hobby for the impatient.) I will post more photos once they’re finished and washed out!

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Weaving Using a Multi-Loom

I’ve been thinking about expanding the theme of my blog for a while now to include some of my other creative endeavors. I like making things, whether it’s food or art of some sort, so I thought it would be fun to share more of my hobbies. I’m going to keep posting mainly vegan recipes and other vegan themed posts, but will start throwing in an occasional post about some other things I’m working on too.

To kick it off, I’ll share with you my latest addiction…weaving! I just bought a little loom that arrived last weekend, and I’m already having a hard time putting it down. I ordered the loom from Hazel Rose Looms, and I got a 4 inch square Multi Loom. They have various shapes and sizes to choose from.

It didn’t take long to learn how to weave using this loom, and this instructional video was relatively easy to follow.

The process is pretty simple. The yarn gets wound around the pegs in three directions and then you weave over and under each row of yarn. Variegated yarns create interesting plaid-like patterns. I started off trying to use a thicker yarn, but it was really tricky. Thinner yarns are easier to use, especially to start off with.

I also don’t have the right needle. They’re supposed to be at least as long as the loom you’re weaving on, but mine was too wide to fit through the pegs. The shorter one is working out just fine though. I also need to get a little tapestry comb. You can see some of my squares are a little off in the middle, but I think the tapestry comb would help even out the rows.

I’m not sure what I’ll do with these squares. I’m thinking maybe a little pillow, or if I get ambitious, maybe a small blanket. It’s definitely addictive though!