Thank God for samples
Inspiration
For the maki-age challenge I decided I wanted to make pine cones on some of my jackets. When I was in California in June some very dear friends took me for a picnic among the sequoias so sequoia pine cones seem to be the right inspiration: 
Maki-age Pine Cones
Maki-age seems like the perfect technique. I'm worried about the spaces between the bound shapes, if it is too small the dye won't penetrate and the design will loose its focus. So a sample is in order, and I have plenty of scraps of the silk noil gauze from making the jackets. So I enlarge the design (the pine cone without the stem is about 8" high)and traced it onto the cloth:

I drew two pine cones; one with the purple dressmakers marker (Dritz Disappearing Ink Marking Pen) and this one with the pencils I use for tie-dye (EZ hot-iron transfer pencil). Both gave me problems on the nubby, very absorbent surface of the silk noil. I tried 3 different purple making pens and none of them put out enough ink to clearly mark the cloth; I had a faint lines with gaps. The pencil, which I use to write on damp T-shirts when I'm preparing them for tie-dyeing wouldn't write on the dry noil, I had to dip the pencil in water to get it to write.
I stitched each little motif for maki-age. The stem I did last and did in a open satin stitch that gathers the stem. Then I gathered and tied off each section (required band-aids for blisters):

Now I bound each section, I dampened the cloth with a spray bottle so that the cloth compresses well. Since the poofs were already formed I sort of use the kanoko binding technique; forming a half-hitch over my fingers, transferring it to the poof and then pull it tight. I put 2-3 half-hitches on each poof, all 17 of them.
The poofs were small and I was concerned about getting them effectively bound but each was hard after I got it bound. I soaked it then dyed it in a dark brown Lanaset dye bath.
Obviously the Lanaset does NOT dye cotton string, the color contrast makes of easier removal of the binding string. A seam ripper helps get out the stitching thread.
Well I may have bound it too much, I'd like a little more patterning inside each motif. Next time I'll just put one half-hitch on each poof and I might be a bit more brown dye in the white areas. This still wet and although I don't usually wash the Lanaset dyes until they dry, I washed this one to get rid of the marking lines.
I washed it with Orvus, NADA. I tried Synthrapol. I tried all the laundry stain removers I have; nada, NADA.
Ok, this bright pink is there forever, can I tone it down? I mixed a bit of green dye into some print paste and painted it on the pine cone several times and then heat set it. The white turned chartruse and the pink may be a little duller but it still dominates the design. Finished design:

Thank god it is only a sample! I hate pink at this moment.
I have used these pencils on cotton T-shirts for years and they disappear, never had this happen before. Silk takes dye sooo much easier than cotton. Usually when I soak the T's before dyeing the red line disappear. Didn't when I soaked the silk. Then the dyebath was acid and heated where the cotton dyes are alkaline and not heated. I now see that it says
"The heat melts the design into fabric and becomes permanent."
I'm looking for soft graphite pencils. On to the next mistake.







































































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