Finishing projects

After a lot of experimenting with the shop’s new serger, I finished up the t-shirt I was working on before so that I would be able to screen print on it.

This is the feather pattern I was planning on printing.

 

For this print I wanted to experiment with how detailed I would be able to make a resist which is why I chose to use a emulsion screen. The resist worked for the indigo, because you only have to immerse the fabric in the dye for a short time, whereas other dyes like logwood or madder you would have to leave it in longer and the oil resist print may come off.

Here is the back part of the design, the detailed part would be printed on top of the resist.

This is a red oxide on top of the resist.

The other sewing project I worked on was from the yardage I had printed previously. I wanted to make a simple pattern.

Steaming in a pot

After printing the fabric I wanted to test the steaming process that I would use at school and see how it worked with the natural dyes. I built a little chicken wire bowl that is about three inches from the bottom and an inch away from the sides of a large pot. I took some string and connected it to the handles of the pot and the chicken wire. The fabric must be wrapped in a drop cloth or newsprint and rolled up so that none of the printed fabric touches other parts of the printed fabric. I just rolled it up and tied it with string, then set in in the chicken wire. There should be about an inch of water at the bottom of the pot to boil so it will steam up into the fabric. Then finally cover the pot with a towel (so water doesn’t drip on your print) and your pot lid. I usually steam it for about an hour.

After steaming you rinse the fabric.

With this yardage I plan to make a small batch of shirts. I dyed the front of the shirt I will be making in indigo.

I also decided to dip the printed fabric in a stepdown cochineal/myrobalan batch to make the fabric more pinky yellow after Ali dipped a shirt.

Something Ali pointed out recently was that out the side of the shop there was a very abundant amount of madder growing. It is the little white flowering plant, the leaves feel like velcro.

Ali’s cat Noppet was found sleeping on the serger box in the shop.

NEW Serger

The past week besides watering the plants I opened up the new serger that Ali and Sarah had ordered so that they could do more intense sewing projects. I had begun making a plain t-shirt pattern to sew up and started experimenting on it with the serger. We are still trying to get used to it.

Also, before the past week, Sarah cleaned and painted the floor of the shop with a can that they bought from the Habitat for Humanity restore. Water is always dripping onto the floor due to dyes spilling and such, so this coat will protect it.