nancia

ok, if those leaves are pre-school, then i'm in the infant class! i'll be over here sucking my thumb! lol beautiful work, ladies (assuming you are. names on line can be deceptive!)

ghostrider

While antichlor (sold as Bleach Stop by Dharma, Anti-Chlor by Pro Chemical & Dye, and various names at pool supply or pet stores that cater to fish) is the most effective stop bath for chlorine, it is not the only way to stop the discharge process.

Hydrogen peroxide (3%) is also very effective and extremely safe (not to mention already on hand in many homes). I have seen no damage at all to fabrics discharged with full strength bleach more than 45 years ago when peroxide was used as a stop bath.

White vinegar used to be a third, not as effective, option, but the acid does react with the chlorine to produce even more caustic chemicals (though not as bad as ammonia and bleach).

nancia

Very nice discharge design! I bought a bleach pen yesterday and I have some peroxide so I'm good to play! Thanks for the inspiration!

ghostrider

It's 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 8-10 parts water, nancia. Soak for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, remove the fabrics and discard the stop bath. The neutralizing chemicals get used up. Make a new batch for the next batch of fabrics. Have fun. (the posted design was using a syringe and Soft Scrub w/Bleach)

suziehammond

Are you wondering 'How did we get to mid-July already? I sure am. I have projects on the wall and one of them is even in this month's theme 'Cool and refreshing'

Now the big Q is....is that Q going to get completed on time? The tyranny of deadlines is making me experiment and be creative all at the same time. I might hurt my brain if I am not careful.

Love all the interchange of idea on techniques and ideas going on here. I am getting so much inspiration AND info to try out. Thanks to all for putting their info out there.

Linny

ghostrider- thanks for the info and I like the "syringe art"......still looking for a bleach pen..none at the big grocery store where I shop.

ghostrider

Bleach pens are my LEAST favorite way of discharge dyeing. They're too much like those big huge crayons that two year olds use. I find the possibilities somewhat limited with them and go with other options.

I like straight bleach because it leaves no 'halo' (like in the photo I posted), and it's ideal for spraying over a mask of leaves, washers, keys, whatever you want (great for shadow quilts). I also use Soft Scrub and/or Cascade, both with bleach. They're thicker, more clingy, and work well with things like potato mashers, coil wisks, cookie cutters, syringes, bubble wrap, rubber stamps, stencils, squeeze bottles with fine hole metal caps, toothbrushes, food (!), and pretty much anything you can make a mark with.

I also really want to try deColourant and deColourant Plus, but haven't gotten around to ordering any yet. I've been trying to get Dick Blick to stock it since that's where I get most of my toys, but we'll have to wait and see. You'd think they'd be quicker to please a third generation customer wouldn't you? teehee

Linny

ghostrider- thanks for that plus a lot of ideas I've never thought about......I can see the possibilities are endless

SewExtremeSeams

Wow, ghostrider, you are so full of ideas it is making my head spin. However, thank you. Thanks for the steer away from bleach pens (which weren't in the grocery store the other day, anyway). I do have Soft Scrub and I can see where that might be a greaat tool. Off to play...

ghostrider

Make sure it's SS w/bleach and not the plain stuff...and have a great time playing! Can't wait to see pictures!!