and four more

Scarf dyeing continues in earnest around here! Above is a basic immersion-dyed scarf ... that I'm thinking of overdyeing ... it's gentle and soft, in ecru, seafoam and gold ochre. It's like the first daffodils, in scarf form. But it might be too gentle, too subtle, too ... complaisant? I'm debating going back and trying to give it some kick. I had a bit of a breakthrough last night, technique-wise, and now I want to go back and re-do a lot of my previous stuff.

This was actually the second scarf I did. I had a sunny afternoon and I wanted to experiment with sodium alginate (a thickener) and see if I could create a thick gelatinous dye that would sit on top of the fabric and dye it in blobs rather than seeping into it. The problem is that the scarf had been soaked in soda ash first ... and my dye definitely wasn't thick enough. There are still spatters, but it's more of a droplet-texture in what turned into a very bubble-gum-pink scarf. Might overdye this one, too, though I'm kind of taken with its saccharine sweetness.

For my fourth scarf, I got to folding (with Cass' help). It was a real pain, but the results are wonderful, so graphic and bright and geometric. I like it. I want to do more of these. Next time, I think I might fold the scarf (with some help from the iron) before soaking in soda ash solution; although that might make it difficult to fully saturate the scarf. I don't know, these are things to think about and experiment with.

And then the fifth scarf, which is currently my all-time favorite dye job. This is not an economic way to dye scarves, as it uses a lot of dye, but I love the intensity of color. In person that peach is so bright as to almost seem fluorescent - and that's applied OVER gunmetal. This scarf is like a stormy sky shot through with brilliant orange. I love it. The color combo is great. I'm attempting a duplicate now, and mulling over other color combos that might turn out so brilliantly together. I guess this is just proof that you should always keep experimenting!