ENTWINEMENTS

I am working on some colors on a new silk fabric; this requires that I adjust even old formulas. The new fabric is a silk noil; duller, matte and cream colored instead of true white like the china silk I usually use. I am working with Lanaset dyes.

To make the whole process so as painless as possible I mix up a large bucket of dye bath. This is easy for me since I add my additives based on the volume of the bath not on WOF. So 1g/L works for the samples and in the batch bath. I adjust the pH then just keep the bucket handy. When I want to dye a small sample I just dip out of the bucket and I’m ready to go.

Similarly I make up 0.1% Stock solutions to use (actually they were made the last time I was doing samples and since they keep well, so I just used them). I usually dye 5g swatches so the dilute stock helps with accuracy.

Then I use 3 flasks that I can put at the same time into a constant temperature bath. I have to stir by hand but a thermostat controls the temperature. So I set it at 40°C to start then to 60° and last to 85°C.

Here are 3 swatches I did in about 1 hour; black, purple passion and a new denim color. The black could be a little darker it has a bit of a charcoal effect. Swatch two looks good but the blue needs the hue blackened and value darkened.