We were tying ourselves in knots this week – intentionally, and imaginatively. Different knots and folds, around different objects (such as small stones and lolly sticks), and with different ties (elastic bands or cable ties) created different and amazing effects.
In order to ensure the dye is reasonably colourfast – i.e. the dye won’t all run out in the wash – I soaked the fabric (100% cotton) in soda ash first. You could add soda ash to the dye instead but this means you have to use it all up quickly, and I wanted to keep the dye usable for longer.
Once the fabric has been soaked and dried it’s ready to be dyed. You can ‘paint’ the dye on directly, using sponge brushes and they will bleed together a bit like watercolours. Or you can twist, tie or fold the fabric first, ensuring that the dye cannot reach all areas. If you do repeated folds (concertina ones work well) then you might create a repeated pattern. Lolly sticks can be used, tied onto the fabric, to hold the folds together. Or you can scrunch it all up and then tie it in position. Another way is to tie tie elastic bands or cable ties around a small object such as a pebble. Or the kids showed me a way to twist the fabric into a swirl shape, and then tie it up in that shape. There are a million different ways to achieve this effect. Then you simply dab on your colours with the dye, using those sponge brushes (you could dunk them in a bucket but this way means each child could choose their colours, and use several on the same piece).
As you can see, the results were amazing!
