More about black and white
We had a DYE DAY yesterday and I tried the new Procion MX dye from Pro-Chem , #609. I got cold feet about trying it on my carefully stitched T-shirt because of my previous experience.
I took another T-shirt and finger pleated, a la tie-dye, and bound it up with string. Five minutes work at risk to test the black. It soaked in water while I prepared the dyebath. I had the dyebath at 35C, so I took a short cut and dissolved the dye directly in the dyebath. I then immersion dyed it following Pro-Chem's instruction for MX. It used up the whole sample of dye I had, it always take a lot of dye for black. I then washed it before untying it.
Wet it looked black, then wet they always do, but open there were blue halos around the resisted white areas. 
Not exactly the black and white I had been aiming for. Dry the black ground looked pretty good--even,maybe a little aged looking. While studying the resists I saw some firespots--areas where undissolved dye contacts the cloth--caused by undissolved red dye.
No short cut goes unrewarded!
I thought this black was a pretty good neutral black so I got out my matelasse black and white samples I made for the sting ray outfit and compared them.
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Beside the black on silk the black on cotton is disappointing. It is hard to match the black on the silk matelasse--this stitched shibori gives a truely black and white design.
