Made the most of a day home sick
Oct. 18th, 2005 11:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellymellThe mockup for the petal wrap sleeve on the Council Velvet is done after three attempts. I've cut out the rest of the pattern pieces for the undertunic, will fit them, then make alterations to make it knee length. Then on to the surcoat.
Got the frog closures yesterday and I'm going to mix up some of the charcoal grey dye I have and paint them to age them and tone down the silver a bit. Way too shiny and sparkly. Why does metallic silver never come across right on a monitor? They're a great size though! And I'm glad I've thought to use snaps to actually close the thing and the frogs as mostly decoration. I wouldn't trust them to hold all that great (holes too large, knots too small).
Also got some suede swatches from syfabrics for the boot wraps. Still not what I'm looking for. The color is right, but the upholstery stuff is way too stiff. I guess I could wash it and see what it does, but I really don't like the backing on it. I want something like what I bought for a gypsy corset last year, but in brown, not red. I've checked Hancock's and Hobby Lobby locally, and they've got nothing. Guess I need to go up to Surs this weekend before I give up and order something.
I may have found an alternative and really cheap fabric for the undertunic. Someone mentioned a fabric store in Chicago that I had never heard of, so I looked them up to see if they had a site. Sure enough, they do, so I started browsing. They have a 100% rayon fabric that is small white diamonds with circles in them on a black background. If it's too white, I can overdye it with some of the grey dye I have. And it's only $7/yd! I've got a swatch on the way to be sure. If I even think I can get by with it, I'm jumping on it.
Took a deep breath, meditated, prayed to a miscellany of gods, held a small ceremony and sacrificed a blonde, blue-eyed virgin, to overdye my expensive paisley last night (disclaimer: only the deep breath part is true). It came out well. The gold threads really took up the dye, turning them to a muted burgundy (VERY muted, they look very aged). The red threads, well, they pretty much look the same, which gives me two shades of red in it (adds to depth, makes it look old, I like it). With the gold all but gone, it no longer has the orange tint to it from a distance (you could see those threads even through the red that was on top in most places). I think it will be a nice middle ground between the trim and the deep rose velvet.
I started with a half and half mixture of Dharma's Procion Fiber Reactive dyes in Scarlet and Burgundy (1 tablespoon of each). I wound up adding another teaspoon or two of scarlet and another tablespoon of burgundy before I got the color I wanted (could have taken pics of my washing machine for a horror movie, looked like a vat of blood). I tested the color on scraps of cotton muslin first (knowing the colors won't be exactly the same, but it was good enough).
I cut a small, maybe 2 inch wide strip from the end of the brocade (not the selvage) and cut that into about 15 small 3x2 inch pieces for tests. I put several in a small black nylon net bag, hung it from the agitator and let them soak, pulling a piece out every 5 minutes (oven timers are my friends). I rinsed them, rung them out in a towel, then took the iron to them to dry them out the rest of the way to compare with the trim and the original fabric. I marked each with a consecutive number using a sharpie and made notes as to how long it sat in the dye bath. When I got to 10, I had what I wanted (at 50 minutes, and yes, the dye water was still pretty hot, made a point to keep the lid of the washer closed).
So, in with the whole yard+ and set the timer for about 30 minutes to check on it. I let it agitate for about 10 minutes, then threw in the vinegar. I soaked the swatch that was my target color in plain water and left it on the dryer next to me so that I'd know roughly what the finished fabric should look like. I was cleaning the kitchen at the time (our washer and dryer are strangely in the huge pantry), so I was able to keep an eye on it. I went through several cycles of cleaning something, letting it agitate, letting it rest, manually agitating it, letting it rest, cleaning something. . . at about 20 minutes, I got the bright idea to try dyeing the habotai for the lining at the same time, make better use of all this dye. Unfortunately, since this was an overdye dilution, it came out fuchsia (really pretty color of fuchsia, but not exactly "Blood Red gown" material, an overdye will be in order).
Once all the waiting was done, I let the wash cycle finish normally, adding a second rinse in there (we have an "extra rinse" cycle option). Started it over, using warm this time, ran it through a wash cycle with Synthrapol. Once I thought it had given up as much excess dye as it was going to, I tossed in a bit of Milsoft and following the directions, ran it through another wash cycle on hot for 10 minutes, then a rinse in warm. Once it was done, I tossed it all in the dryer for 15 minutes or so on warm. Out came this gloriously soft antique-looking red brocade, and a gloriously soft bright fuchsia habotai. Milsoft ROCKS! Can't wait to use it on some silk velvet! I'm really happy with the brocade, and I think after the painting, it'll be grand. It did lose a lot of that silk shininess, but I took an iron to it this morning and it's still there, just wrinkled right now. Not nearly as shiny as it was, but as I said, I'm happy with it.
I'll be treating it with Stop Flow tonight and I think I have to let that dry for 24 hours before starting the painting. I'll start with the gold, then go back and do black accents. I'm hoping to finish in a week. I'll be able to do at least a 12 inch diameter circle a day, maybe two circles a day on weekends.
Tonight, dyeing the midnight blue habotai and finish the undertunic mockup. This means I have to take my undergown mockup apart (half done already) and figure out how much yardage I'll need dyed. I've decided I'm definitely lining at least the top of the undergown (maybe to about waist), I'll see how two layers look, might wind up with three, I'm not sure yet.
Saturday, unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to work on anything. I spent 2 hours in Dillards trying to find something I'd consider wearing to a cocktail party for less than $100. I came home growling that "I'm making all my clothes from now on," but fortunately found something. Sunday, I spent pretty much all day working out the petal wrap sleeve pattern. I have pics of everything but I haven't pulled them off the camera yet, let alone uploaded them.
Oh, and I got 109 on the movie meme. :]
Edit: Forgot to put what dyes I was using and how much of them. Added that to the process notes. Trying to keep better tabs on things to be able to replicate processes later if need be.
Edit again: Added a remembered note to the dye process, as explained in the comment to Jess.
Got the frog closures yesterday and I'm going to mix up some of the charcoal grey dye I have and paint them to age them and tone down the silver a bit. Way too shiny and sparkly. Why does metallic silver never come across right on a monitor? They're a great size though! And I'm glad I've thought to use snaps to actually close the thing and the frogs as mostly decoration. I wouldn't trust them to hold all that great (holes too large, knots too small).
Also got some suede swatches from syfabrics for the boot wraps. Still not what I'm looking for. The color is right, but the upholstery stuff is way too stiff. I guess I could wash it and see what it does, but I really don't like the backing on it. I want something like what I bought for a gypsy corset last year, but in brown, not red. I've checked Hancock's and Hobby Lobby locally, and they've got nothing. Guess I need to go up to Surs this weekend before I give up and order something.
I may have found an alternative and really cheap fabric for the undertunic. Someone mentioned a fabric store in Chicago that I had never heard of, so I looked them up to see if they had a site. Sure enough, they do, so I started browsing. They have a 100% rayon fabric that is small white diamonds with circles in them on a black background. If it's too white, I can overdye it with some of the grey dye I have. And it's only $7/yd! I've got a swatch on the way to be sure. If I even think I can get by with it, I'm jumping on it.
Took a deep breath, meditated, prayed to a miscellany of gods, held a small ceremony and sacrificed a blonde, blue-eyed virgin, to overdye my expensive paisley last night (disclaimer: only the deep breath part is true). It came out well. The gold threads really took up the dye, turning them to a muted burgundy (VERY muted, they look very aged). The red threads, well, they pretty much look the same, which gives me two shades of red in it (adds to depth, makes it look old, I like it). With the gold all but gone, it no longer has the orange tint to it from a distance (you could see those threads even through the red that was on top in most places). I think it will be a nice middle ground between the trim and the deep rose velvet.
I started with a half and half mixture of Dharma's Procion Fiber Reactive dyes in Scarlet and Burgundy (1 tablespoon of each). I wound up adding another teaspoon or two of scarlet and another tablespoon of burgundy before I got the color I wanted (could have taken pics of my washing machine for a horror movie, looked like a vat of blood). I tested the color on scraps of cotton muslin first (knowing the colors won't be exactly the same, but it was good enough).
I cut a small, maybe 2 inch wide strip from the end of the brocade (not the selvage) and cut that into about 15 small 3x2 inch pieces for tests. I put several in a small black nylon net bag, hung it from the agitator and let them soak, pulling a piece out every 5 minutes (oven timers are my friends). I rinsed them, rung them out in a towel, then took the iron to them to dry them out the rest of the way to compare with the trim and the original fabric. I marked each with a consecutive number using a sharpie and made notes as to how long it sat in the dye bath. When I got to 10, I had what I wanted (at 50 minutes, and yes, the dye water was still pretty hot, made a point to keep the lid of the washer closed).
So, in with the whole yard+ and set the timer for about 30 minutes to check on it. I let it agitate for about 10 minutes, then threw in the vinegar. I soaked the swatch that was my target color in plain water and left it on the dryer next to me so that I'd know roughly what the finished fabric should look like. I was cleaning the kitchen at the time (our washer and dryer are strangely in the huge pantry), so I was able to keep an eye on it. I went through several cycles of cleaning something, letting it agitate, letting it rest, manually agitating it, letting it rest, cleaning something. . . at about 20 minutes, I got the bright idea to try dyeing the habotai for the lining at the same time, make better use of all this dye. Unfortunately, since this was an overdye dilution, it came out fuchsia (really pretty color of fuchsia, but not exactly "Blood Red gown" material, an overdye will be in order).
Once all the waiting was done, I let the wash cycle finish normally, adding a second rinse in there (we have an "extra rinse" cycle option). Started it over, using warm this time, ran it through a wash cycle with Synthrapol. Once I thought it had given up as much excess dye as it was going to, I tossed in a bit of Milsoft and following the directions, ran it through another wash cycle on hot for 10 minutes, then a rinse in warm. Once it was done, I tossed it all in the dryer for 15 minutes or so on warm. Out came this gloriously soft antique-looking red brocade, and a gloriously soft bright fuchsia habotai. Milsoft ROCKS! Can't wait to use it on some silk velvet! I'm really happy with the brocade, and I think after the painting, it'll be grand. It did lose a lot of that silk shininess, but I took an iron to it this morning and it's still there, just wrinkled right now. Not nearly as shiny as it was, but as I said, I'm happy with it.
I'll be treating it with Stop Flow tonight and I think I have to let that dry for 24 hours before starting the painting. I'll start with the gold, then go back and do black accents. I'm hoping to finish in a week. I'll be able to do at least a 12 inch diameter circle a day, maybe two circles a day on weekends.
Tonight, dyeing the midnight blue habotai and finish the undertunic mockup. This means I have to take my undergown mockup apart (half done already) and figure out how much yardage I'll need dyed. I've decided I'm definitely lining at least the top of the undergown (maybe to about waist), I'll see how two layers look, might wind up with three, I'm not sure yet.
Saturday, unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to work on anything. I spent 2 hours in Dillards trying to find something I'd consider wearing to a cocktail party for less than $100. I came home growling that "I'm making all my clothes from now on," but fortunately found something. Sunday, I spent pretty much all day working out the petal wrap sleeve pattern. I have pics of everything but I haven't pulled them off the camera yet, let alone uploaded them.
Oh, and I got 109 on the movie meme. :]
Edit: Forgot to put what dyes I was using and how much of them. Added that to the process notes. Trying to keep better tabs on things to be able to replicate processes later if need be.
Edit again: Added a remembered note to the dye process, as explained in the comment to Jess.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2005-10-18 06:51 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-18 07:42 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-18 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-18 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-19 02:12 am (UTC)There are books on the subject, but I've gotten by thus far on all the knowledge at Dharma Trading (and asked a few questions of their staff as well). I would like to get some books on it though to further refine the process.
And you're right Jess, I fussed over the overdye process way more than dyeing outright. 1.) because this time the fabric was a lot more expensive. 2.) because it really is a lot harder to figure end results.
Which makes me remember yet another small detail I left out of my notes above (my target test swatch, #10, I dipped it in water to soak it down and kept it by the washer, wet, so that I had an idea of what the rest of the fabric should look like wet once it got to the target color).
no subject
on 2005-10-19 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-19 06:49 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-18 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-18 07:43 pm (UTC)I'll try to get pics up tonight. I've got all the way back to the finished jumper mockup to post.
no subject
on 2005-10-18 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-18 08:00 pm (UTC)If it makes you feel better, this is my first dye without blochies. The dream gown has them, but they're mostly hidden on the underlayer. I was uber careful to make sure all was dissolved on this one, though. And did any dye additions in the testing phase (which lasted an hour).
no subject
on 2005-10-18 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-18 09:24 pm (UTC)I'm also looking forward to the Daily Show tonight, too! :)
no subject
on 2005-10-19 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-18 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2005-10-19 02:14 am (UTC)Watch, I'll screw up one of the other like 4 batches I have left to do and decide to swear off dyeing forever. ;]
HA! hopefully I give you something that's drool worthy then.