Fabric Dyer's Dictionary Read online

  F A B R I C D Y E R ’ S

  DICTIONARY

  900+ COLORS • SPECIALTY TECHNIQUES • THE ONLY DYEING BOOK YOU’LL EVER NEED!

  Linda Johansen

  Text and artwork copyright © 2010 by Linda

  Johansen

  Artwork copyright © 2010 by C&T Publishing, Inc.

  Publisher: Amy Marson

  Creative Director: Gailen Runge

  Acquisitions Editor: Susanne Woods

  Editor: Lynn Koolish

  Copyeditor/Proofreader: Wordfirm Inc.

  Cover/Book Designer: Kristen Yenche

  Production Coordinator: Kirstie L. Pettersen

  Dedication

  Production Editor: Julia Cianci

  My Fast, Fun & Easy books are for Mom

  How-to photos: Linda Johansen and Lynn Koolish

  All other photography by Christina Carty-Francis and

  and the creativity she nurtured and inspired in me.

  Diane Pedersen of C&T Publishing, Inc.

  Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456,

  This one is for Dad, for always being there for me and the “I learn anything”

  Lafayette, CA 94549

  attitude. This book is also for Jay Johansen for taking the sewing tradition in All rights reserved. No part of this work covered

  by the copyright hereon may be used in any form

  another direction (www.rideherd.com).

  or reproduced by any means—graphic, electronic,

  or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,

  taping, or information storage and retrieval systems—

  without written permission from the publisher. The

  copyrights on individual artworks are retained by

  Acknowledgements

  the artists as noted in Fabric Dyer’s Dictionary. These designs may be used to make items only for personal

  I owe huge thanks to all the following folks and canines:

  use or donation to nonprofit groups for sale. Each

  piece of finished merchandise for sale must carry a

  Everyone at C&T Publlishing, for another great book. They make this fun, conspicuous label with the following information:

  easy (well, almost easy!), and beautiful.

  Designs copyright © 2010 by Linda Johansen from the

  book Fabric Dyer’s Dictionary from C&T Publishing, Mom, for tearing fabric when my arms were tired.

  Inc.

  Barbara Friedson, for ironing lots of dyed fabric.

  Attention Teachers: C&T Publishing, Inc., encourages

  you to use this book as a text for teaching. Contact us

  Barbara Schreiner, for believing in me and making the beautiful quilt from at 800-284-1114 or www.ctpub.com for lesson plans

  and information about the C&T Creative Troupe.

  my fabrics on page 3.

  We take great care to ensure that the information

  Sidnee Snell and Kim Campbell, for being good friends and great included in our products is accurate and presented

  sounding boards.

  in good faith, but no warranty is provided nor are

  results guaranteed. Having no control over the choices

  Irwin Bear of P&B Fabrics, for generous donations of fabric.

  of materials or procedures used, neither the author

  nor C&T Publishing, Inc., shall have any liability to any

  Dharma Trading Co. and Pro Chemical, for generous donations of dye person or entity with respect to any loss or damage

  caused directly or indirectly by the information con-

  powder and information.

  tained in this book. For your convenience, we post an

  Cindy Crook (Kona) and Karen Seumalo (Toa and Tui), and the rest of “the up-to-date listing of corrections on our website (www.

  ctpub.com). If a correction is not already noted, please

  pack” for daily long walks that kept the dogs happy, kept me sane, and got contact our customer service department at ctinfo@

  me in shape as well.

  ctpub.com or at P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549.

  Trademark (™) and registered trademark (®) names

  Dana Stillinger of Best Friends Doggy Day Care, obedience and agility are used throughout this book. Rather than use the

  classes, for stretching my mind and keeping me humble.

  symbols with every occurrence of a trademark or

  registered trademark name, we are using the names

  Pita (via PNW Border Collie Rescue) and Echo (via a local animal shelter), only in the editorial fashion and to the benefit of the

  for being my smile makers.

  owner, with no intention of infringement.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Johansen, Linda, 1951-

  Fabric dyer’s dictionary : 900+ colors--specialty tech-

  niques : the only dyeing book you’ll ever need! / Linda

  Johansen.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 978-1-57120-863-7 (soft cover)

  1. Dyes and dyeing, Domestic--Dictionaries. 2. Dyes

  and dyeing--Textile fibers--Dictionaries. I. Title.

  TT853.J64 2010

  667’.303--dc22

  2009029822

  Printed in China

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Introduction

  I started dyeing fabric because I wanted to play around with color and see what The colors in this book are organized by

  would happen. Next I signed up for a sewing workshop that asked me to bring one-the color wheel. I challenge you to play

  yard pieces of as many different colors of solid fabric as I could. One hundred yards with them to see how adding just a bit

  were suggested! Now, I knew how to buy fabric—I had a closet full to prove it. But of another color changes the original

  what I wanted to learn was how to dye fabric. A friend and I talked about it and color. Learn to recognize what color(s) are

  decided to dye all our own fabric for the workshop. I developed a sheet to record in a piece of fabric—is it a blue red or a

  what I had done and started dyeing. As I was dyeing all this fabric, I realized that yellow red, a warm black or a cool black?

  there would be much more than I would use in years, so I talked to my local quilt The most common reason given to

  shop owner to see if she was interested in buying some wholesale after the work-me in classes for learning to dye fabric

  shop. Thus began Johansen Dyeworks.

  is the desire to make a particular color.

  I still keep records of how I get particular colors, and friends often want to look With this book, I hope to make that

  through my personal recipe book. I keep track of what color dyes I used, the easy for all of you. My dream is for you

  methods and containers, the chemicals, and the amounts of time. You’ll find a list to be able to go to the recipe for the

  of what I record on page 11. I urge you to make your own record sheet and start color you want and mix it up. If you

  your own notebook. You will learn so much more if you can look back and see what don’t find an exact match, or it doesn’t

  you’ve done. You can mark each fabric (page 10) so you’ll know how you created it.

  quite give you what you want, read the

  recipes and notice what happens when

  The equipment and chemicals you need are readily available, and you probably already you add particular colors. Then add a

  have many of them. Once you have everything, the rest is easy. For those of you who bit of this and a bit of that to tweak it

  like to shop or
even hunt around to find free things, this can be a really fun part of until you get it right. The time of year,

  the process. You will be finding supplies in stores you never expected to look in!

  the degree of humidity, the type of

  fabric, and even your mood can change

  the colors slightly.

  I hope the recipes in this book help you

  get that perfect color!

  Using This Book

  First, read through the Basic Information

  and The Dyeing Process chapters. Next,

  you can either go to the recipe for the

  color or colors you want to create and

  dye specific colors, or you can work

  through each chapter so that you can

  learn for yourself just what your mixtures

  will do.

  Be sure to look at the specialty tech-

  niques on pages 88–94. They are fun

  and easy to use, and they add texture,

  blend colors, and give you lots of options

  for creating exciting, unique fabric.

  Heaven’s Gate made by Barbara Schreiner using fabric dyed by Linda Johansen INTRODUCTION

  3

  Introduction. . . 3

  Oranges . . . 28

  Clear Orange, Dark to Light. . . 28

  Basic Information

  Clear Orange to Clear Blue Complementary Cross. . . 28

  Precautions, Tools, Dyes and Additives, Fabric,

  Getting

  Started. . . 6

  Clear Orange to Clear Blue Complementary Cross,

  Dark to Light. . . 29

  The Dyeing Process

  Clear Orange to Black, Dark to Light. . . 31

  Making the Liquid Dye, Measuring Equivalents, Special

  Color Information, General Dyeing Instructions,

  Clear Orange to Black. . . 33

  Using the Color Formulas, Keeping Records. . . 9

  Clear Orange-Red, Dark to Light. . . 33

  Muted Orange, Dark to Light

  Rainbows. . . 12

  . . . 34

  Clear Dark Rainbow. . . 12

  Muted Orange to Muted Blue

  Complementary Cross

  Clear Light Rainbow. . . 13

  . . . 34

  Muted Orange to Muted Blue

  Muted Dark Rainbow. . . 14

  Complementary Cross, Dark to Light. . . 35

  Muted Light Rainbow. . . 15

  Muted Orange to Black, Dark to Light. . . 37

  Yellows. . . 16

  Muted Orange to Black. . . 39

  Clear Yellow, Dark to Light. . . 16

  Muted Orange-Red, Dark to Light. . . 39

  Clear Yellow to Clear Purple Complementary Cross. . . 16

  Reds . . . 40

  Clear Yellow to Clear Purple Complementary Cross,

  Clear Red, Dark to Light

  Dark to Light. . . 17

  . . . 40

  Clear Red to Clear Green Complementary Cross

  Clear Yellow to Black, Dark to Light. . . 19

  . . . 40

  Clear Red to Clear Green Complementary Cross,

  Clear Yellow to Black. . . 21

  Dark to Light. . . 41

  Clear Yellow-Orange, Dark to Light. . . 21

  Clear Red to Black, Dark to Light. . . 43

  Muted Yellow, Dark to Light. . . 22

  Clear Red to Black. . . 45

  Muted Yellow to Muted Purple

  Clear Red-Violet, Dark to Light

  Complementary Cross. . . 22

  . . . 45

  Muted Red, Dark to Light

  Muted Yellow to Muted Purple

  . . . 46

  Complementary Cross, Dark to Light. . . 23

  Muted Red to Muted Green Complementary Cross. . . 46

  Muted Yellow to Black, Dark to Light. . . 25

  Muted Red to Muted Green Complementary Cross,

  Dark to Light

  Muted Yellow to Black. . . 27

  . . . 47

  Muted Red to Black, Dark to Light

  Muted Yellow-Orange, Dark to Light. . . 27

  . . . 49

  Muted Red to Black. . . 51

  Muted Red-Violet, Dark to Light. . . 51

  Contents

  Purples . . . 52

  Greens . . . 74

  Clear Purple, Dark to Light. . . 52

  Clear Green, Dark to Light. . . 74

  Clear Purple to Muted Yellow

  Clear Green to Muted Red Complementary Cross. . . 74

  Complementary Cross. . . 52

  Clear Green to Muted Red Complementary Cross,

  Clear Purple to Muted Yellow Complementary Cross,

  Dark to Light. . . 75

  Dark to Light. . . 53

  Clear Green to Black, Dark to Light. . . 77

  Clear Purple to Black, Dark to Light. . . 55

  Clear Green to Black. . . 79

  Clear Purple to Black. . . 57

  Clear Yellow-Green, Dark to Light. . . 79

  Clear Blue-Violet, Dark to Light. . . 57

  Muted Green, Dark to Light. . . 80

  Muted Purple, Dark to Light. . . 58

  Muted Green to Clear Red Complementary Cross. . . 80

  Muted Purple to Clear Yellow

  Muted Green to Clear Red Complementary Cross,

  Complementary Cross. . . 58

  Dark to Light. . . 81

  Muted Purple to Clear Yellow Complementary Cross,

  Muted Green to Black, Dark to Light. . . 83

  Dark to Light. . . 59

  Muted Green to Black. . . 84

  Muted Purple to Black, Dark to Light. . . 61

  Muted Yellow-Green, Dark to Light. . . 84

  Muted Purple to Black. . . 61

  Muted Blue-Violet, Dark to Light. . . 62

  Blacks . . . 85

  Black #39, Dark to Light. . . 85

  Blues . . . 63

  Black 602A, Dark to Light. . . 85

  Clear Blue, Dark to Light. . . 63

  Black 608, Dark to Light. . . 86

  Clear Blue to Muted Orange Complementary Cross. . . 63

  New Black, Dark to Light . . . 86

  Clear Blue to Muted Orange Complementary Cross,

  Dark to Light. . . 64

  Specialty Dyeing Techniques . . . 88

  Clear Blue to Black, Dark to Light. . . 66

  Ombre. . . 88

  Clear Blue to Black. . . 68

  Twist. . . 89

  Clear Blue-Green, Dark to Light. . . 68

  Layering. . . 90

  Muted Blue, Dark to Light. . . 69

  Using Dry Dye Powder. . . 91

  Muted Blue to Clear Orange Complementary Cross. . . 69

  Rolling on a Rope. . . 92

  Muted Blue to Clear Orange Complementary Cross,

  Painting with Thickened Dyes. . . 93

  Dark to Light. . . 70

  Pleat and Dip. . . 94

  Muted Blue to Black, Dark to Light. . . 72

  Muted Blue to Black. . . 73

  About the Author . . . 95

  Muted Blue-Green, Dark to Light. . . 73

  Resources . . . 95

  Basic Information

  I dye fabric because I love playing with color. I like to keep things simple, so my Tools

  dyeing process (explained in detail in the next chapter) is simple and straightforward.

  Don’t spend a lot of money on your

  containers for dyeing. Save yogurt con-

  Precautions

  tainers (small and large), cottage cheese

  It seems like everything fun has to come with warnings. For dyeing, the precau-containers, and plastic deli containers.

  tions are simple. Don’t breathe or wear the powder or other chemicals. This means Our local food co-op sells used empty

  owning a good-quality dust mask, having a good pair or two of gloves (see Tools, at one-, two-, and five-gallon buckets. You

  right), and using them. r />
  may have a local restaurant that will give

  I mix the dye powders in a strong solution and keep them in a small student refrig-buckets to you or sell them cheaply. Use

  erator in my outside dyeing area so that I don’t have to mix them as frequently. I them for rinse water and clean water. I

  find that they will keep their strength for a couple of weeks if stored this way. If they use several dishwashing tubs or cat litter

  are not refrigerated, they start losing strength in a couple of days. If you need to use trays to hold the bags when I’m dyeing.

  your family refrigerator, mark the dyes clearly, and clean the bottles before storing.

  The smaller tubs from when someone

  Keep them separate from food if possible.

  has been in the hospital are also handy.

  For clothes, wear something you don’t mind getting color on. I see some great funky I mix my dye solutions in small squeeze

  clothes in classes. I usually wear a pair of white painter’s pants so the drips will show, bottles, so I keep funnels handy to get

  or a black skirt so they won’t. Sometimes I even spray the painter’s pants with soda the dye powder into them. I have six

  ash water so the color stays. I get lots of fun comments on them. Remember not to funnels so that each color goes through

  wear your best footwear either.

  a dry funnel. You can mix the dyes in

  small open containers, but there is more

  Plan on using your measuring and mixing tools only for dyeing. I write “DYE” on all powder in the air that way. Be sure your

  my tools with black industrial-strength permanent marker so that there is no mis-dye bottles do not leak when squeezed

  take. I also put my initials on all of them. Do not use these tools for food.

  upside down. Try this with water first.

  I dye either in our laundry room or in a covered space outside, so we live with dye I also use two or more sets of measuring

  splashes on the wall in the laundry room and spills on the patio outside.

  spoons and cups. Like the funnels, the

  spoons need to be dry when the dye

  powder is spooned out of the container.

  I check local thrift shops frequently

  for sets of measuring cups and spoons.

  Check their accuracy! Some of the really

  cheap ones are not accurate.

  My laundry room

  6

  FABRIC DYER’S DICTIONARY

  Zipper-lock freezer bags work well, as it is easy to close the Dyes and Additives

  zipper when wearing gloves. Use the quart size for a fat

  See Resources on page 95 for sources of dyes and auxiliaries.