SmickChick

Those of you who are into "non-cotton" fibers, Thai Silks......thaisilks.com is offering 25% off til the 16th of Feb.
I love to put the silk into a crock pot and dye it with dharma dyes. It's sooo easy, and georgeous!

sallylarson34

What method do you use in the crock?

SmickChick

First of all, I dye silk and wool....no cotton. I fill the crock pot with water so that it will cover the fabric. I add some Dharma acid dye, lets say yellow. I put the pre-wetted (actually only sometimes I wet it first) fabric in the pot. I turn it on high and continue to add water over time as it evaporates. I may keep it in the crock overnight, or maybe just hours. When I think it's had enough time, I squeeze it into a strainer to drain it back into the pot. Place the fabric in a zip lock bag, and place in a steamer. All equipment is from goodwill: crock -$5, strainer - $2, and the steamer maybe - $4, tongs like .50. You can steam it for twenty minutes, some may take longer (per the Dharma directions, 20 min to 3 hours.) Then I rinse it at the sink. This is why I like the acid dyes...it only takes a little rinsing (okay red takes more rinsing), but the other types of dyes you have to rinse and rinse. Then I put in a bowl of water with a little, 1T vinegar. Let sit, then later rinse again. It is really easy.
Oh, say I start with yellow, when that batch is done, I keep the diluted yellow dye, and add a pinch or orange....repeat process....then I add a pinch of red....repeat, then I add a pinch of pink, or blue....The colors are fabulous!!!
You don't have to dye yards and yards of fabric....even little swatches are fun!
Good luck!