I've got the reds

Over in Palette Dyeing Internet Rug Camp, we are working on creating beautiful primary colors for our palettes: red, yellow and blue. So this last week, each day I created a different red, and think I finally achieved a fire red that I love to paint with. I posted several pictures of the reds with recipes in our internet classroom which anyone is free to join!

Dyeing for Rugs 5: The Dye Process

Once you have made your liquid dye solution, you are ready to dye! This is the process, step-by-step, to create fabulous colors in 8-gradation swatches. The amounts of dye I recommend using in each jar have been adjusted after many trials and errors. I found that the common formula used did not have enough distinction in the middle values. So these amounts I call FORMULA AD and are what I recommend using.

1. Soak 8 pieces of 6" by 16" white wool in warm-hot tap water with a couple of small squirts of synthrapol for at least 30 minutes. This is concentrated detergent, and using more is not going to improve your dye results. It is used so that the dye will penetrate the wool well. If you don't use it, you won't like the results because the dye will sit on the top of the wool and when you cut it the edges of your cut will be white.

2. Fill 8 wide-mouth mason jars 1/2 full of warm-hot tap water and place in canner. Mark your jars numbers 1 to 8 and always work in the same direction from jar 1 (lightest value) to jar 8 (darkest value).

3. Add the liquid dye (what you mixed in your jelly jar earlier) to your 8 jars according to this table.

Formula AD

1 jar - 1/8 tsp.
2 jar - 1/4 tsp.
3 jar - 3/4 tsp.
4 jar -1 1/2 tsp.
5 jar - 2 1/2 tsp.
6 jar - 4 1/2 tsp.
7 jar - 7 1/2 tsp.
8 jar - 12 tsp.

4. Put one piece of synthrapol-soaked wool into each jar and stir well as you put the piece of wool in. Start with value 1 and work to value 8.

5. Add an inch of hot water in the bottom of the canner to create a water bath.

6. Put the canner on stove, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. You will need to stir the wool occasionally. If you don't it will mottle. By stirring, I mean you have to use plastic or wooden tongs and draw the piece of wool out of the jar, unfold it, and put it back in and stir. Work from value 1 to value 8.

7. After 30 minutes of simmering, it is time to add about 2 tablespoons of vinegar to each jar. I don't measure, but just pour some in. But before you add the vinegar, you need to remove the wool piece from the jar with the tongs and pour the vinegar in the jar. Then immerse the wool piece again in the jar and stir well, working from value 1 to value 8. I usually go around again, drawing out each piece, unfolding it, and putting it back in and stirring.

8. Put the lid back on and simmer for 30 minutes. The vinegar is what aids the dye to be taken into the wool, so it is essential that you stir the wool two or three times during the next 30 minutes, unless you want really mottled wool.

9. After 30 minutes, stir one last time the wool in each jar, and turn off the heat. Allow the jars to stand until the water in them clears. This usually takes overnight.

10. Once the water has cleared (there might be some color left in the darkest value jars), remove each piece of wool and stack them in order with value 8 on the bottom and value 1 on the top. Pin together.

11. Put swatch in your washer on warm rinse cycle.

12. Put swatch in your dryer on normal heat with a Bounce or similar dryer sheet.

13. Remove swatch and tear one inch off the end of each piece of wool to create a little reference swatch. Pin together with a round label secured with name or number of the dye. Cut a tiny bit off the end of each of the little one inch wide reference swatch and tape them in your recipe book under your dye recipe with double stick tape.

Dyeing for Rugs 4: Mixing the dye

The goal of Palette dyeing is to create a swatch of 8 gradated pieces of wool, each 6" by 16" in dimension. This is done in eight wide-mouth canning jars and a canner. But before it can be processed in a water bath, the dye formula has to be developed and mixed into a liquid solution.

The process I am describing for mixing and dyeing uses Cushing's dyes. I like these dyes because of the variety of colors available and the softness of color, even when they are bright, that I can achieve. Because these are dry dyes, they must be handled with care. I use thin rubber surgical gloves and work in an area that is not drafty because you don't want to inhale the dye power. So mix your dyes in a still environment - no fans, no open windows. If you want to use Pro-Chem, or other dyes, you will need to consult other literature on the proper procedures for mixing and dyeing.

It is vital that you develop a consistent manner of dyeing so that your results are dependable and can be achieved again and again. What I mean by this is ALWAYS use the same measuring spoons, ALWAYS measure your dry dyes and your liquids the same way, ALWAYS use the same amount of water in the jelly jar. Do not change equipment or the way you measure something if at all possible.

Procedure

1. Collect the dyes you want to use in the recipe.

2. Measure each dye carefully into a wide-mouth eight-ounce jelly jar. Use TOD spoons. Open the package, dip the spoon into the power, level it off gently while the spoon is still in the plastic bag (on the outside of the plastic bag, just run your finger along the surface of the spoon cup so that the powder is level).

3. When you take the measured dye out of the plastic bag, make sure that dye particles are not heaped at the joint where the cup and the handle meet. This bit of dye is enough to alter your results. So brush if off in the bag before putting the dry dye in the jelly jar.

4. Between dyes, clean your TOD spoon by immersing the spoon's cup in a jar filled with table salt and clearly marked DYE SALT and stored away from food. Swish it around until the TOD spoon is clean and ready to be dipped into the next dye.

5. When all the dry dyes have been measured into the jelly jar, add a few drops (about a teaspoon) of warm-hot tap water. Using a wooden skewer or a chopstick, stir the dye into a wet paste. You don't want to use too much water. All you are trying to do is blend the dyes together really well before you make the liquid solution. It is REALLY important that the dry dyes are well-blended into a wet paste. If they aren't, all kinds of funky things can happen to your wool when you try to dye it. So take your time and mix them well.

6. Add 1 cup of boiling water to the jelly jar. If you are working in the 8-ounce jar I suggested, you don't even have to bother with a separate measuring cup. Just fill the jar up to the area where the header starts. Mix well with your wooden skewer.

7. The liquid solution is now ready to use or store. For storage, tighten on the cap and write in permanent marker on the lid the dye name or number. I use a numbering system consisting of my initials and a number AD1, AD2, AD3, etc. If you are using a dye formula from someone's book, label it as they did so that you will know what is in your jar.

8. Immediately record in your dye recipe book the dye formula you used and its name or number.

Designing for Rugs 101: Border Design

Designing the border of your rug presents its own particular challenges. A really successful border says to you, “The rug stops here.” Its function is like a picture frame, it brings the viewer into the center of the rug, pulling the eye from the edge to the inside.

The initial decision you will need to make about your rug’s border is its type. What are some border types to consider for your rug?

• Linear ~ The least complex borders are those of repeated straight lines. But lines don’t have to be straight. They can waver and turn like waves and become quite complex. When creating this kind of border, you should consider the direction you will hook the lines since this is the direction the border will flow.
• Geometric ~ These are enclosed shapes that are repeated in the border. They can be simple like circles, triangles, diamonds, checks, ovals, and the like. Or they may be more detailed shapes like shoes, handprints, hearts, birds, flowers, and whatnot. Shapes like stars, ziz-zags, triangles and fans will move the eye outward because the shapes point outward. This makes the rug feel larger. Shapes pointed inward will do the opposite.
• Storytime ~ Here the border continues or enhances the story, landscape or picture in the center of the rug. It is usually a broader view of the central story, landscape or picture while the center is a smaller element of that story, landscape or picture.
• Motif ~ The border here is the main part of the rug while the center, which is very simple, is the place that the eye rests and then is pushed back to look at the border. Motif borders tend to be wider and more complex because of this. They contain the motifs of the rug rather than the center.
• Script ~ A favorite verse which finishes the story of the rug is fun to try.

Art Rug Journal: Since Mission Concepción was a Franciscan mission in the 1700s, I have decided to create a border that will feature a saying of St. Francis, one that will highlight the floral aspects of the Mission's frescoes.

St. Francis was hoeing his garden. A man asked what he would do if he learned he would die before sunset. "I would finish hoeing my garden," he said.

I also will pick up a triangle design that will be on the lip of the jar, and use it in the border. I want my borders to be a bit irregular, so the saying will be at the top and bottom, while the sides will be a series of triangles. But I will pull some of the flower motifs into the border to create an effect of abundance and overflow.

There is nothing magical about designing a rug. In the end, the placement of the elements needs to be pleasing to your eye. I just fiddle around with the elements, cutting them out and moving them around on the fabric until I like what I see. I am always editing to simplify my initial ideas. I also use very quick sketches (really doodles) of things to try out placements. Here is one I made this morning.

Dyeing for Rugs 3: Preparing your wool

For Palette Dyeing, wool needs to be prepared in strips approximately 6" by 16". Here is a quick and easy way to do it.

1. Take a yard of white wool and launder it in warm water and laundry soap in a normal washing machine cycle. Dry in dryer using normal heat and fabric softener sheet. Prewashing and drying the wool will remove any sizing and begin to tighten the wool fibers without felting it.

2. Remove the selvages by clipping and tearing along the length of the yard.

3. Fold the yard in half with selvage-torn edges together.

4. Fold again by bringing the center fold to the selvage-torn edges.

5. Fold again by bringing the new center fold to the selvage-torn edges, so that you have a bundle measuring approximately 6" wide by 32" long.

6. Clip the folded edge through all four layers.

7. Clip the folded edges on the other side.

8. Tear each of the clips, so that you have eight pieces approximately 6" wide by 32" long.

9. Fold each piece in half and cut across, so that you have sixteen pieces approximately 6" wide by 16" long.

Dyeing for Rugs 2: Equipment

Dyeing requires a kitchen with a stove or an oven and a sink. All dishware, utensils, storage containers, and other equipment MUST be dedicated to dyeing. Once it is used in the dye process it can never again be used for food preparation, storage, serving, or eating.

The reason for this is that the dyes we work with are toxic if ingested. They are poison. So purchase equipment that will be labeled dye equipment, stored away from the kitchen, and out of reach of children and animals. This is also true of the dyes themselves. Keep them away from children and animals. Work in a still environment - no open windows, no fans - so that the dry dyes don't become airborne when you are measuring them. You do not want to inhale them. Read and follow all warnings and precautions written on the labels of the dyes you choose to use.

I do not say this to scare you away from dyeing, but only to make you keenly aware that dyes need to be treated with appropriate precautions as you would any other poison around your house like cleaning fluids or pesticides.

You will need:

1. Eight pieces of prepared white wool, each 6" by 16"
2. One 9" by 13" glass baking dish
3. Eight wide-mouth quart mason jars
4. One 8-ounce jelly jar with lid
5. Set of TOD dye spoons
6. Acid dyes (either Cushing's or Pro-Chem)
7. One tablespoon measure
8. One teaspoon measure
9. Synthrapol
10. White vinegar
11. Rubber gloves
12. Plastic tongs
13. Wooden kabob skewers or chopsticks
14. Spray bleach
15. One quart crock pot, preferably 6.5 quart or larger
16. Binder or notebook to record your dye recipes and experiences
17. Big safety pins
18. Round labels with metal edges (called "split ring key tags" 1 1/4" diameter or larger)
19. Permanent black marker

Palette dyeing: the ability to reproduce your colors precisely

Monday night a group of us from the Houston area met at my place where I demonstrated palette dyeing in my kitchen. In a series of upcoming posts, I will go through the entire process with photographs (I haven't figured out how to make a video yet). But in the meantime, I want to show the true benefit of learning to dye this way.

I took four pieces of off-white plaid wools and one piece of white wool. The women selected the #5 value of a tomato-red color I had developed last week. Keep in mind that we are dealing with one color (tomato-red) in 8 values. I number them 1 to 8 from lightest to darkest. So in the case of #5, we are looking at a medium value of the tomato-red. I wanted to reproduce it as exactly as one can with a hand-dyed procedure.

So I got out my liquid mother solution of AD9 (the number I had given to this tomato-red dye), and I measured into the water the same amount of dye liquid that I use in my process when dyeing one piece of 6" by 16" white wool only multiplied by 5. Since I had five pieces of wool torn in the same 6" by 16" dimensions, I multiplied the amount of dye by 5. I put the pieces in the dye water in my crock pot, and the result? A perfect match!

Here is the picture of the resulting fabrics. The small piece laying crosswise in the bottom left corner is the sample I wanted to recreate. The wool it is laying on is a white piece I put in the bath to demonstrate how exact we can match the sample by using this process. The other pieces are the plaids, as they were when I started, and how they looked once AD9 #5 happened to them.

Notice how the natural color wools and the tans deepen the color slightly.

Dyeing for Rugs 101: Starting with Palette Dyeing

I began with the "dump and dye" process because I didn't know any better. I thought dyeing involved putting some dye in a pot with some wool and being surprised about what came out at the end.

Now surprise is fun until you ruin a number of yards of wool at $20 and $30 a yard. Or you run out of a wool you dyed for a background of a rug and need to reproduce its color and can't. Or you try someone's recipe from a book and end up with an entirely different looking wool than what is pictured.

Over the years I realized that I needed a process that would allow me to reproduce my colors with a fair amount of consistency, if not exactness. Also, as my art advanced, I wanted to create my own color palette, one that was unique to my rugs. So I took classes from great dyers like Sibyl Osicka, read a number of old dusty dye manuals, experimented a great deal, and settled on a dyeing process that I call Palette Dyeing.

This is not an advanced dyeing technique, although, unfortunately, it is often taught only in intermediate and advanced rug hooking classes as "gradation dyeing." But it is more than gradation dyeing, and is not just a process for fine-shading hookers. It is a process for ALL rug hookers, no matter your preferred hooking style. It is creating your own signature dyes for your rugs in a process that will allow you to reproduce any of your colors in any value at any time.

Hue is a particular color. Value is the lightness or darkness of a particular hue or color.

Once you learn how to dye in this way, and settle on a number of dye formulas that you like, you will be able to create gorgeous wool in crock pots - mottled, dip-dyed, scrunched, transdyed, overdyed. And you will know what color and value you are going to get.

The goal is to create a particular color or hue in eight values. This is done by creating a liquid mother solution which is carefully measured into quart mason jars. Water and one 6" by 16" piece of white wool are added to each jar and processed. The result is a wool of one color (or hue) but in a range of values as I have picture here. A particular green, red, blue and yellow in eight values each.

When you want to reproduce one of the values of the color or hue, you simply use the same amount of dye per the same amount of wool, and voila, you will have the same gorgeous wool again. If you need four times the wool, you multiple the amount of dye four times and use four pieces of wool 6" by 16" and you will have the same gorgeous wool multiplied.

So in this series Dyeing for Rugs 101, I'm going to take you through this process to help you get started learning to dye and creating your own palette all at the same time!

It is extremely important that you keep track of your dyeing recipes and the results of your dyeing. You will be creating your own dye recipe notebook which will contain a number label for each formula (your initials plus a number: AD1, AD2, etc.), a dye recipe, and snippets of the dyed wool. You will also be creating a large swatch ring, containing 1" by 6" swatches of all your hues and their values.