Emily purchased a bolt of fabric from a theatre sale, so we had plenty, but before we began we wanted to make sure it would be long enough.
After stretching it out we were quite pleased to see that it would be just enough.
Next we had to decide if we wanted to leave the fabric as it was, or if we wanted to dye it.
We were inspired by the colour and texture created by the water stains on the outside walls of the Birch building, so we made the decision to dye the fabric using direct application Procion MX. We headed back to the classroom to get started.
Dyeing such a large piece of fabric presented some challenges. We wanted to keep it in one continuous piece, so we were not able to wash it before dyeing because it would not fit in the washing machine in the classroom. However, from our Surface Design class we knew it was possible to dye without scouring the fabric first, and in some cases it actually produces a darker colour than if the fabric had been washed first, so we decided to take the risk.
We wet the fabric as we dyed, hoping to create a spread out, drippy, natural looking effect. We rolled the material, wrapping it with plastic sheets. Once everything was done, we wrapped the entire bolt in a sheet, and placed it under one of the tables to batch. Generally you only have to leave it for 24 hours, but we waited until the next week to rinse.
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