Hand-dyed fabric - what qualities are you looking for?
 

Hello all,
What qualities are you looking for if you were to buy hand-dyed fabric for your quilting or textile projects? I am a dyer and am going to offer some dyed fabric for sale on my etsy shop. I am not trying to sell or advertise here; rather I just want to know what makes the best quality fabric for a quilter even though I know this may vary depending upon the project. Specifically:

a) I am starting with Kona cotton, but are there other fabric options that are desirable?

b) Should I treat the cloth with a professional (and no fragrance) fabric softener or would you prefer the cloth to be untreated beyond the dyeing and washing? I have not done this in the past and can simply use a vinegar rinse, but sometimes the dyeing and excessive washing stiffen the fabric

c) Are there patterns, colors, gradients or techniques that especially appeal to you? Shibori, hand-painting, wood block printing, highly textured cloth? I know this is highly subjective......
I would love to hear from you and am grateful for any feedback or just general chit chat.
Happy Quilting and warm regards,
Sonna

I look for the same qualities I look for in any fabric, color and hand being the most important for me. I don't want fabric that's treated. Especially not fabric softener. I use a lot of Best Press or spray starch just to make it stiffer.

Please don’t take this as an insult but I find hand died fabric to look “ faded out” without much depth to the color. Perhaps that is what it is supposed to look like. For me I would want it to have the intensity of batik fabric.
All that said, good for you in your new endeavor .

Colorfastness.

Thank you for your input!
 

Thank you for your responses. It is very helpful. Stay warm and dry. (We are having a terrible ice storm here).

And Terry in the ADK, no offense taken! I tend to like richer colors myself which leads to a LOT of rinsing and myself wondering if this is viable! :)