Rust and Tannic Paste Resist

My favourite of all the dyeing exercises for uni, was the paste resist, rust & tannic dyeing. The effects are really striking and it's so easy to do!

Before dyeing with the alum, Starch & flour paste pattern applied

After rust & tannic dyeing

My Favourite of all the rust & tannic was the rust using metal objects. I tied objects up in cloth & soaked it all in cleaning vinegar in a plastic tub lifting in various parts out to expose to the air from time to time. It took several weeks, but it's just sitting there really so not too hard!

The colours & patterns are amazing!

Shibori & Indigo Dyeing

Part of what I was doing all last study period, was Some Shibori & Indigo Dyeing. It was a lengthy process but I enjoyed it a whole lot! Some samples were really successful, others could have done with a bit longer in the dye I think.

Molas & Maps

My My My haven't I been an absent Blogger!
I've been off doing 3 textiles subjects and loving every second of it!
Heres some of the stuff I've been doing.
We had to make maps of a site, this is the duck and geese feeding area at the local lagoon

Machine Stich on cotton

This is the whole lagoon the zig zag is the streets and bridges

Machine stitch on layers of paper

This is a paper mola map of the ground. Layers of paper stapled together then you cut away sections to reveal beneath.

Construction paper & pen.

This is a Mola, you stick all the layers down and cut out layers to expose the fabric beneath. It is a map of what I saw on the ground at the lagoon the half different colours represent a different time of the day, different light.

Machine stitch on many layers of sheers and twill, cotton and synthetics

I will post more of my work, the fabric dyeing and embroidery and so on once I catch my breathe again :)
I hope you are all very well!

Things I have been working on lately

I suppose it's a little bit like cheating showing you my uni assignments and no actual unencumbered sewing projects ;) ;) But since Uni is taking up 100% of my time these days, I will show you anyhow.

Dad made Mum a cup of tea

She struggled to get to the table, she was so weak, but she wanted to sit at the table.

When she was done, Dad wouldn't wash the cup over the days she was in hospital.  He wanted to look at that cup and see her lipstick then he could pretend  she was still in the house, and not in hospital dying.

I made these using free motion stitching on the sewing machine and lots of coloured thread. I used two different colour thread each part, one for the top thread and another bottom thread, changing the tensions altered the colour of the thread stitches and gave variations for shadow, light and variation.

It was an assignment for uni. It was to tell a story using a cup. My cup narrative was called one last cup of tea. It was a personal story of Mum's last day in her house, drinking her last cup of tea in her own space before she went off to hospital. 

I Loved doing this work so much I didn't want to stop!

I wish I could work out how to not bunch up the fabric,(Please someone tell me!!) sometimes it got very bunchy, other times not so much!

Mola (Reverse Applique) representing Mums Garden.

Mola (Reverse Applique Work representing Mums Sewing,  Dresses, tops, skirts, shorts,  and the yellow swimmers.