A wee bit of the snow dyeing process
I guess I have always considered myself a visual learner, primarily. I know we all learn visually, auditorily AND kinesthetically but lately it has become clear that I learn by DOING. and Doing and doing…
Iterations.
This weekend I dyed. Not just good ol’ dye and water and fabric(+chemicals and stuff), but SNOW and more SNOW and that whole “trickle down” theory we have heard about for years. Well this is what it is really about. The snow (or ice if you are in Miami or Summertime someplace) melts. (Not smelts, as my hands really want to type, which is a fish and I am not sure how good-eating it is, but you can always use it for bait.)
Yes it MELTS and trickles down which creates complex and chaotic and interesting results. To coax the water and dye into some form of order and design, you can arrange the fabric and garments by folding simple or intricate patterns, by scrunching the fabric into folds and mountains and valleys, and by twisting lengths of fabric, scarves and cowls into rope-like pieces that in turn, twist up upon themselves. These and more manipulations create fascinating and symmetrical variations and oft-times repeating patterns.
Here are some examples:
Folded zig zag 
Twisted up on itself 
Folded snow flake style 
Folded somehow 
Folded then zig zagged 
Scrunched randomly 
Scrunched detail 
Folded after wash/dry 
Snowflake after wash/dry
This weekend’s batch was some test swatches, some finished cowls and some pieces of fabric 2-5 yards long.
Some of the swatches are here:
Eyelet swatch still wet 
Eyelet swatch dry 
Brocade/damask swatch 
Brocade/damask draped 
Cotton eyelet still wet 
Double knit swatch
I considered over-dyeing some of the lighter results, but actually like the discernible foreground and background as I perceive it. I know as I continue to design and make* garments and accessories, I will ice/snow dye again and achieve different and more intentional and (somewhat) consistent results.
Ultimately the visual parts of my brain determine what I learn through the process but I must keep doing this again and again to really witness the the effects of the changes… and the knowledge is cumulative…after a certain threshold, something kicks in and sorts all the data on my behalf and interpolates it into usable impulses and ideas. The result is–I learn, I make more and (one hopes) I evolve.
<3
* make = sew or have sewn, in the case of the cowls above, my dear friend Cheryl and I have been collaborating and she has sewn these into being! I am grateful to work with friends on manifesting gorgeous creations!
Below, some of the finished pieces of my weekend foray into ice dyeing. More definitely to come.
