I wasn’t raised in the depression, but my mom was. She saved bags by the hundreds and margarine tubs were stacked in cabinets. What are we going to do when this **** is over? (I’ve made a personal pledge to refrain from using the word). Possibly hoard toilet paper or save our last soft drink like we will never see one again!
Well, the habit of saving or not wasting dye has been something I started when I took a class from Yvonne Porcella. She has passed away many years ago and left a legacy that will last for centuries. We were dyeing silk and she suggested we take a scrap of wet fabric compatible with the type of dye we were using and wipe down our table.
This is much easier when the dye is suspended in water. So that is what I did! I ice dyed blues for a background for a portrait quilt. I had dye from rinsing my spoon, a little spill and a small amount of dye from the original container (if you spill powder dye always use a wet paper towel or fabric to wipe it up). Sorry I’m off track again!
I wouldn’t do this with contrasting colors on the color wheel and experience tells me to stay away from colors such as blue violet. Red and blue make purple or Violet. If you use many colors or hues you get what I call mucky muck. A brown or grey. Not fun; unless you want it.
Check out the picture below for an example of putting blue violet in the mix.
Back to the waste dye results. I put several long 5 inch wide pieces (WOF) in the cup with the leftover dye. Be sure and leave enough for the soda ash solution to set the dye. Of course, I didn’t think of it in advance.
I can’t predict what you will get using this post. For me it’s a spontaneous. The results are unpredictable to some extent.
If you have never dyed fabric, I hope you can in the future. Always take safety precautions. I wrote a blog post on Safety as well. One of my first. I always say, put safety first!
Pam
pamsdyedtextiles.com 