Another dye day

Yesterday we had a beautiful clear blue sky, so I ran outside and started dyeing. I had three sweatshirts, three button-down shirts, four sports bras, and six pairs of socks to dye, plus my warp and weft yarns. So I mixed up my colors and got to work!

Here are the sweatshirts:

They all look about the same (minus the colors) because they’re all dyed the same way, by scrunching them up and pouring dye over them, then allowing the dyes to mix. Not very interesting technically, but sweatshirts are hard and clumsy to dye because the fabric is so thick. These are zippered down the front, which adds the challenge of handling the stiff zipper – so, all in all, I felt it wisest to do them the simplest way possible.

Anyway, I like the colors, though if I were redoing the blue/green one I’d probably substitute turquoise for the medium blue – it would produce a more electric and exciting blue/green. But no matter – the sweatshirt will keep me warm while working out (in my unheated garage), and that’s what really matters.

And here are the three shirts:

I like all three of these, though I’m fondest of the violet/bronze and red/orange/yellow ones. The violet/bronze has wonderfully complex colors, and the red/orange/yellow – well, how could anyone not like such a bright and cheery combination? The only thing I’d love to redo is that the back is more interesting than the front; I’d swap the pattern on front and back if I could. Oh well; c’est la vie.

The purple/blue/black is acceptable, though I’m not wild about it.

And the socks?

I love these socks, especially the fuchsia and yellow socks in the top right of the first photo. They remind me of orchids, with their exotic colors. I’m also big on the socks in the second photo – I parfait dyed them with turquoise and fuchsia dyes, and got far more interesting color patterns than I’d been expecting.

But really, I love them all!

I also dyed the warps and wefts for the next sample, and am impatiently waiting for them to dry so I can start beaming/threading. I ran out of dyes before I could do the sports bras, though, so they’ll just have to wait for the next dye day. Which may be coming up soon, since I just ordered another batch of shirts and sweatshirts from Sierra Trading Post (which sells remaindered clothing at astonishingly low prices, some of which has a high enough cotton content to be dye-able.) After that I think I should be appropriately wardrobed, and can stop dyeing clothes for awhile.