Batik Basics

As part of a taster session for GCSE at school a week ago I introduced Batik.

Using a wax melting pot and a jtungting tool we added melted wax onto cotton which was stretched over a wooden frame.

Then using the tool the wax is added to the fabric so that it soaks through enough on both sides, this will stop the paint from spreading.

Next, using a clean brush we added silk paint.  Now, it is thought that silk paints can only be used on silk and this is not the case.  The colours have a vibrancy which can not be achieved in the same way with fabric paints. Above is my efforts which I started as a demo and then finished painting whilst the students worked on their own pieces.

I tried to link it to  the theme or circles ,swirls and spirals which we are working on in  lessons at the moment. I shall publish other posts about my work with this topic.

I do have a few pictures of some of the Batiks that the students made, it was only a small group on the day.

Once the paint is dry, and this can be speeded up by using a hairdryer, the wax is removed with an iron and baking parchment.

These samples have since been put on a display board for all to see.  After half term we shall be having a go at this technique with the whole group in shifts of 5 or so for safety.  Once the wax is on the fabric the rest is pretty safe to do with a paint brush.  I have taken  some colour photocopies of my piece of  work for further use with this project but I shall come back to that once I have used it.

I really enjoy batik as long as you realise that it is not an exact science and the wax can drip in places that you do not want it but that is part of the fun and its charm.  Has anyojne else tried this?

I have got the number for hiring the church hall for my evening class on getting to know your sewing machine.  Just need to organise a date.

xx

Dyeing Workshop...the Sequel.

My last post looked at how Sophie and I had fun dyeing fabric etc and here are the results.

By Sunday the dye was not as strong as it had been on the day of the workshop, so the fabric was not very successful, and getting caught in a down pour Sunday afternoon did not help. However, the cotton threads that dyed worked very well. Some are shown above. I think tat you can see the variegated, dip dyed threads that we tried too.

Sophie likes pink, I would never have guessed. The fabric that I had dyed on the day has now been ironed and ready to be used for some marvellous project that I have yet to think of.

I did try to get a range of colours, and the top one on the right is a colour combination that I come back to time and time again. Only managed one version of red.

I have been asked what type of dyes they are and where to get them.

They are Reactive Plus Dyes for cotton, linen, silk,viscose,rayon, paper,and all cellulose fibres. They come from Omega Dyes based in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. They can be found by clicking on their company name. They have a range of other dyes which you could choose from. As yet I have not had a chance to look at the website as I would quite like a starter pack, if they have one, rather than buying loads of different pots. They are granular dyes rather than powder dyes which can cause problems for asthmatics, so they can not be breathed in so easily.

I have a small wooden frame upstairs which is screaming out for something small, creative and special to be made to go in it. So I think that these will be used to fill this frame.

This week has been crazy and very little making has taken place. I do have lots of pictures of finished items from the last two weeks which I will come back to tomorrow.

I would like to say a big Hello and thank you to the new visitors and commenter's for this week. I hope you will be back again.

Tomorrow is Friday and I shall breath a small sigh of relief before the hectic activities of the week to come. More on that tomorrow.

Take care :-)

xx

A stitch in Time....

Every now and then one of my City and Guilds pieces pop up when I am looking for something else, and here is another. A piece of my past when I lived in a lovely little village.

If I remember rightly, I had to use a set list of stitches with as wide range of threads as I had or could find. I can not remember if there was a theme but I do remember favouring flowers for many of my samples if I could. I do have the original booklet in the attic somewhere.

I clearly remember making this in our living room at our last house whilst hubby was at work and it was a glorious sunny day. "Why not sit outside?" I hear you ask, well it was that sunny I could not see the colours of the threads as my eyes were streaming despite wearing sun glasses! So I sat near the french windows instead. Funny how some details are remembered better than others.

I have to admit that it was not put into a frame until about a month ago that this was actually put into a frame. Shame on me, but I was not sure what to do with it as wall space is limited in this house. However, since the attic conversion I now have another staircase with additional wall space!! Yippee. So at last I have the time to position and hang this piece of work to its full advantage. I was going to take it to my friend's shop but frankly I like it too much so it is going to stay here. I shall show you what I eventually took tomorrow.

It is lovely weather here so I shall bye for now as the BBQ is pretty much ready. Lovely salad and yummy sausages etc.

Take care.

xx

Fabric, Dye, Bead and Stitch 6

This sample from the City and Guilds file is stitched on a blue loose linen. The task was to learn about drawn thread work and textured stitches. If I remember rightly I chose shades of blue because it worked well with the fabric I had, it was a colour scheme that i had not used before in the course and the variation of shades worked well with he depth and texture of the stitches because it added 'light' shades to the sample.

It measures about the size of an A4 piece of paper and like all of the other sample needs framing rather than staying in a plastic wallet which is where it is at the moment. I really must try and get back to this type of work. I really enjoyed this course as it gave me the opportunity to create like this.

Next, now that Sophie is older, I would really like to do a City and Guilds in machine embroidery. My last course was a correspondent course which I was able to fit around work. I was going to do the course with the same college but then it folded and I have not been able to find another. So if anyone knows of another (in the UK) then I am very interested. It would be an ideal New Years Resolution wouldn't it?

I have finished my latest Amy Butler bag but today had been so dark and dreary that a photo was impossible. I have also started my two next swap items as well.

Many thanks for the lovely comments this month, especially about my Camper Van, and the new visitors who have said hello. I have been returning the visit and saying 'hello' too. I have taken some nice photos of the Camper Van and I hope to make them into cards. Be a bit different, won't they?

I have a training day tomorrow then half-term begins. My body and brain needs a break and I need to catch up on jobs around the house and some other work tasks.

Tomorrow I have some info for anyone who likes knitting and raising money for charity.

Off to get some beauty sleep.

Take care

XX

Fabric, Dye, Bead and Stitch 4

Another stitched piece. This one is the end result of playing around with dyes in the kitchen. it was definitely bucket chemistry, as my husband called it at the time, I had sheets to follow so that I started with certain colours and by adding more in a certain order I gradually expanded the colour range and took a sample of dye at each stage. With these different colours I dyed whatever was not glued down! There are even some old cotton bandages (unused I must say) in that piece.

I really enjoyed this task and once every dye colour had been made and a sample had been taken by dipping a piece of white cotton into it for my sketch book. The rest of dye I used up as it could not be kept.

The stitched panel is what I decided to do with my dyed pieces of fabric etc. it is more colourful than the photo suggests and just like yesterdays post I am going to see how I can better frame it.

Swap will be officially launched tomorrow. OOOH this is exciting.

See you tomorrow

XX