| Eventually, the serious quilter or fabric artist considers | | | | If you put a tightly woven fabric and a loosely woven |
| customizing their own fabric. But dyeing fabric isn't just | | | | fabric in the same dye bath for the same amount of |
| about dunking it into a dye bath. The best results come | | | | time, and heat set the fabric the same way, the tightly |
| when you think ahead. | | | | woven fabric is going to look darker. Why? There are |
| Final Use | | | | more fibers per square inch to take the dye and |
| Are you going to use the finished fabric to wear or in | | | | therefore color density is darker. The thicker the fabric, |
| home decoration? This will influence not only your | | | | the more dye or paint it will absorb, so it will change the |
| choice of fabric, but also the types of dyes or paints | | | | feel of the fabric and make it stiffer. That also |
| you use. For example, if you want to use the finished | | | | influences the wearability of the fabric. |
| fabric in a blouse, skirt, or jacket, then you'll need a | | | | A blend of a natural fiber with a synthetic fiber, such |
| fabric that drapes well, will withstand laundering, and will | | | | as a cotton-polyester blend, will dye unevenly. The |
| take dyes and paints well. If you are going to use the | | | | natural fiber will take on more dye faster than the |
| fabric in an art quilt that is to hang on the wall, then you | | | | synthetic fiber. |
| can use any type of weight or fabric and you don't | | | | If you are going to overdye (dyeing a pre-printed |
| need high-quality fabric dyes. Pre-washing in the | | | | fabric), the dye will take on different shades of the dye |
| hottest water the fabric can take is always necessary | | | | color in different areas of the fabric. A red dye will |
| to remove the commercial sizing or finishing done by | | | | look different over blue than it will over yellow. |
| the manufacturer to reduce soiling. | | | | If you use regular acrylic paints they tend to rest on |
| Natural versus Synthetic Fabrics | | | | the surface of the fabric and so are only used in |
| In general, natural fabrics (cotton, linen, silk or wool) will | | | | artistic projects that aren't going to be laundered or |
| take dyes and paints better than synthetic fabrics | | | | worn. |
| (rayon, acetate, nylon, polyester, acrylic). That said, | | | | Bottom Line |
| some fabrics have other problems to consider. Wool | | | | Before you spend a lot of money on fabric that you |
| doesn't tolerate abrupt temperature changes and can | | | | want to paint or dye, find out the fiber content and |
| shrink. It also contains lanolin, which needs to be | | | | laundering instructions. This information is printed on the |
| scoured out (washed vigorously) before dyeing, or it | | | | cardboard end of the bolt of fabric and you can take |
| will severely affect the ability of the dye to penetrate | | | | note of it. When you do your test, keep a record of |
| the fibers. If you need to fix the dye with high | | | | the type of dye or paint used, how the fabric was |
| temperatures, you may have a problem with trying to | | | | pre-treated, how long the fabric was kept in the dye |
| heat set a nylon fabric with an iron because it may | | | | bath, and how it was heat set or left to dry. Your |
| melt. | | | | "fabric journal" will be an important record of your |
| Fabric Structure | | | | efforts. |