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Multi colored clamp dyed cotton velveteen drying over chair back
Clamp Dyeing Fabric

Clamp Dyeing Fabric

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I am happy to report that our floor is finished and we finally have all of our furniture back. I am still unpacking and rearranging but we are definitely near the end of this mammoth project. I’m happy with the new floor and perhaps at some point, I will completely forget the experience of having it done.

New floor at Ruth's house with painted and caulked trim and painted doors.

My local art group had another get together in the midst of the floor redo and we did some clamp dyeing. I didn’t take any process photos but I do have some of the finished pieces.

Assortment of clamp dyed fabric drying on patio table.

We had five pots of acid dye on the stove including bright yellow, yellow ochre, brick red, dark turquoise and purple. You can fold your fabric however you want or not, and then you clamp different objects to the fabric to create a resist for the dye. You put the clamped fabric into the lightest dye pot first. Then you can unclamp, reclamp in a different pattern and put it into a different color. You work from lighter colors to darker colors. You can dip the fabric partially or put it into soak. The variation are endless.

We used a variety of fabric too. The wool we were using was a very thick, hairy wool blanket. It really had to be clamped tightly and the results weren’t as crisp as thinner fabric.

These pieces are cotton velveteen which actually worked really well with the acid dyes. You can see that the thinner fabric took the dye differently.

Green and yellow clamp dyed fabric created with metal bird sculpture

This piece was done with two metal bird shapes that are the same. They were clamped to the folded fabric on either side.

Multi colored clamp dyed Kraftex

This is a piece of Kraftex that was folded and clamped, then dipped into various colors.

Green, blue, red, and yellow clamp dyed silk fabric

This is a piece of silk that was folded up tightly and clamped and then dipped into various colors of dye.

Two pieces of wool blanket that has been clamp dyed

Here’s a few more pieces of wool blanket.

Birdie supervising the fabric drying process

And Birdie was supervising the drying process on the porch!

We’re planning on using these fabric pieces to create fabric books. We will be working all year on creating the fabric, then the different pages with other techniques and then putting the books together.

Bengala Dyes by Guest Artist Cathy Wycliff

Bengala Dyes by Guest Artist Cathy Wycliff

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Our guest artist today is Cathy Wycliff aka Luvswool.
Over the past couple of years, I have been experimenting with different kinds of dyes. I started with Wilton icing gels, playing it safe for my first experience. I moved on to acid dyes, with the encouragement of Forum members, and I was delighted with the bright, beautiful colors.

Then I tried dyeing with natural plants, like madder, logwood, and osage orange. I ended up with some beautiful dyed wool. Marilyn and I brewed an indigo vat last summer, dyeing everything from lace curtains to wool and T-shirts. This summer I experimented with eco-printing and had some success, but a few failures as well.

When I studied Saori weaving in Minneapolis recently, my instructor, Chiaki O’Brien, also introduced me to Bengala dyes.

They are natural dyes made from the soil in Japan. I was excited to try yet another type of dyeing. I had the trial set of three colors–pink, orange and gray. I liked the idea of natural dyes, already prepared in liquid form, and non-toxic with no boiling water and no mordants. Following is my pictorial on two sessions of Bengala dyes.

I dyed some cotton, linen, silk ribbon and a silk scarf to see if there were any difference on how each dyed.

Session 1

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Session 2

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If anyone is interested in using these dyes, they are available for purchase from Saori instructors throughout the world.

In the USA, you will find them here: saoristudiofun.com/bengala-dyes/

Otherwise, you can google “Bengala dyes” and find offerings from other parts of the world, including Japan, where they are made. I know for sure that Australia, Canada and the UK have the dyes available from Saori instructors. The dyes are particularly
useful when dyeing with young children.

Thanks Cathy for sharing your experience with us about these Bengala dyes!