natural tie dyeing with allium cepa
(This dyeing was made at the end of March 2011, I'm trying to catch up with my dyeing reports here. There are two dyeings before this one, that I posted today, and that were done mid March & mid February)
After making a trial run with the rosemary dye bath & exhausted onion dye bath, it was about time we actually tried to tie dye actual size piece of fabric, which in my mind, meant CLOTHES !! We bought four teeshirts (one of the each of us) and a tank top (for me), all in 100% organic cotton, and I also cut a piece of cotton gauze the size of a scarf, and we pre mordanted them with carbonate potassium, to remove that damned chemical "finishing" (sorry I couldn't find a better term for that) that textile industry uses for making clothes "so perfect" on the shelves & in the shops. Then we mixed ten liters of water & one liter of soy milk, and soaked all the teeshirts & scarf in that, and let them there for a whole week. We rinced, and prepared our dye bath with onion skins. (well, actually, two dye baths) After the teeshirts were dry, I tied the boys' & my tank top. The boys wanted stripes, and I wanted to test "circles" (of some sorts) So I experimented. My parents are not hobo, no hippies, and I have never tie dyed in my whole life, not even wore a single tie dyed teeshirt ! So this one was a first for me !
After making a trial run with the rosemary dye bath & exhausted onion dye bath, it was about time we actually tried to tie dye actual size piece of fabric, which in my mind, meant CLOTHES !! We bought four teeshirts (one of the each of us) and a tank top (for me), all in 100% organic cotton, and I also cut a piece of cotton gauze the size of a scarf, and we pre mordanted them with carbonate potassium, to remove that damned chemical "finishing" (sorry I couldn't find a better term for that) that textile industry uses for making clothes "so perfect" on the shelves & in the shops. Then we mixed ten liters of water & one liter of soy milk, and soaked all the teeshirts & scarf in that, and let them there for a whole week. We rinced, and prepared our dye bath with onion skins. (well, actually, two dye baths) After the teeshirts were dry, I tied the boys' & my tank top. The boys wanted stripes, and I wanted to test "circles" (of some sorts) So I experimented. My parents are not hobo, no hippies, and I have never tie dyed in my whole life, not even wore a single tie dyed teeshirt ! So this one was a first for me !
I used rubber bands, and also big marbles for my tank top. So here are now the results, all rinced, dry & all ! Happy !!
like our own little clothes shop ! LOL
I love how the scarf turned out !
P's teeshirt
and a close up
U's teeshirt
and a close up
my tank top
... and close ups ...
All in all, a good experience. The boys were really excited by the results, and me too (hubby too, of course) to say the least ! We want to do that again sometime soon, but we'll have to get more organic teeshirts first !
Of course the dyes won't last forever, but quite frankly, I won't last forever too !! I can overdye them if I want/can, when it will be needed. And when their lives will be over (as a teeshirt), then I will reuse them, and will keep this memory of tie dyeing our clothes for the first time, very close in my heart.
Lovely results - I especially like U's t-shirt. I've just done my first dye-post of this year, though it's nothing like as thorough as yours!
ReplyDeletei am still waiting for the photo of you modeling you t shirt:)
ReplyDeleteoh you did a great job. just love the t-shirts.
ReplyDeletenmmmmmm, so so lovely.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what you used to dye them. I would love to try. Is it hard?
@ coco
ReplyDeletethanks ! I simply used (regular, yellow) onion peels for dyeing. A lot of it, really. My mother in law uses lots & lots of it for cooking, and I think I used the equivalent of 4 months of her consumption !
They use chemical finishes on organic cotton???
ReplyDelete