When I initially began dyeing fabric, it was because the line of garments I had created for sale at the apparel mart had been taken by someone who had seen them in a fashion show the night before. They had broken into my showroom over the night and the subsequent morning I arrived to find the samples were gone. The fabrics I was using at the time were available in the fabric stores so I lost a lot that season. I decided to learn surface design to avoid having that occur again and fabric dyeing was part of that training process. I fell madly in love with the beauty of the colors, the textures of the mottles, and the unlimited color possibilities.
I developed my own quick inexpensive way of dyeing where there weren't any wasted supplies yet the results are gorgeous and easy-clean which in turn made a successful line of clothing designs that were one of a kind garments. I wrote directions for my students in my fabric dyeing workshops who were interested in learning what I had done. Having directions from someone who has been there-done that should aid in avoiding lots of the standard issues many face when they start to dye fabrics.
You must decide what sort of dyeing you want to do. This really appears foolish in the beginning, but each type of fabric has a different approach and kind of dye so you may totally have to understand this bit of knowledge before it's possible to move forward. I usually like to dye cotton in yarns and fabrics and mix them into my jackets so for me Procion MX dye is the one I have used the most. I do a bunch of other fibers but again every one of them has to have the dye and system that works best with that fiber.
Recipes are a vital part of the dyeing process if want to get another amount of fabric of the same or a corresponding color. I keep an intensive recipe collection so I can quickly dye another run of that color if I have an order for that color group.
You can find the right fabric, system and recipes you find that will be for the projects you would like to used dyed fabrics in as well with a little of experimenting on your schedule. Color theory is also a vital part of the dyeing process so you'll need to add a bit of that to your learning process to assist you quickly get to the results you desire and use the dyed fabrics in your projects.
I developed my own quick inexpensive way of dyeing where there weren't any wasted supplies yet the results are gorgeous and easy-clean which in turn made a successful line of clothing designs that were one of a kind garments. I wrote directions for my students in my fabric dyeing workshops who were interested in learning what I had done. Having directions from someone who has been there-done that should aid in avoiding lots of the standard issues many face when they start to dye fabrics.
You must decide what sort of dyeing you want to do. This really appears foolish in the beginning, but each type of fabric has a different approach and kind of dye so you may totally have to understand this bit of knowledge before it's possible to move forward. I usually like to dye cotton in yarns and fabrics and mix them into my jackets so for me Procion MX dye is the one I have used the most. I do a bunch of other fibers but again every one of them has to have the dye and system that works best with that fiber.
Recipes are a vital part of the dyeing process if want to get another amount of fabric of the same or a corresponding color. I keep an intensive recipe collection so I can quickly dye another run of that color if I have an order for that color group.
You can find the right fabric, system and recipes you find that will be for the projects you would like to used dyed fabrics in as well with a little of experimenting on your schedule. Color theory is also a vital part of the dyeing process so you'll need to add a bit of that to your learning process to assist you quickly get to the results you desire and use the dyed fabrics in your projects.
About the Author:
Marjorie is a clothing designer who specializes in creating recipes for and in dyeing fabrics for her lines of ready-to-wear. She dyes fabric for quilted garments regular garments and rag woven garments. She is an expert in how to dye cotton fabric.