Sunday, February 23, 2014

Dyeing Workshop with Catherine Jordan

A small group of stitchers from Gentle Pursuits and the Virginia Guild of Needlewomen, and a couple of guests, learned how to use Cushing Direct Dyes to overdye threads, linen, and silk. As well as overdying various shades of Anchor and DMC threads, we had linen and silk fabric, ribbon, and chenille thread. We also had a chance to use cutch dye, alone or in combination with the Cushing Dyes.  Catherine did a great job and we had hours of fun.  You can get the same dyes and fabrics from Catherine's website if you want to try it at home.

First we tried the Cushing Dyes.



Catherine had cards showing other natural dyes.  Who knew the dirt around here could be used to make nice fabric colors instead of just making it hard to clean the kids' laundry.

 The cutch was simmering on the stove so we had to be careful when using it.
 I'm sure you haven't though of using your rice steamer to heat set dyes.  Catherine uses this only for dying - no rice is cooked in this!
Lots of color fun creating dyed fabrics.
Here is a small selection of some of the overdyed threads.