Snow Dyeing Revisited

 
I just wouldn’t be right if I ended January without a Snow Dyeing post!   I was in a Snow Dyeing mood on Sunday and thought I would take pictures to share the process again.  When I made my first Snow Dyeing Tutorial two years ago, which you can see here, I poured the liquid dye onto the snow.  I really like that method  when the snow is sticky and wet and I want the colors to blend more.  But if I want bright bold colours than mixing the dye powder into the snow gives the best results.   And this method works best when the snow is dry…meaning it is still in snowflake form, light and fluffy and you can’t make a snowball with it.  So if you live in Canada where this type of snow is plentiful in January then your in luck!  :) 

The first thing I want to show you is my new frames.

I am now using Q-snap frames (used for x-stitch or hand appliqué) instead of my wood frames.  I have retired my small wood frames for two reason.  First the Q-snaps are easier to clean and I can take off the nylon mesh and give them a good wash. The second was when I laid the wet fabric on the wood frames I would get bleeding from the colors on the wood onto the wet fabric if the fabric touched the wood…which it always does.  So I’m very happy with this new system and now have my eyes out for more Q-snap frames in clearance sections when I’m in any  hobby shop.

Retired small wood frames.

So now that I’ve shared my new frames here is a reminder how I crumple up my fabric before laying the snow on. Remember the fabric has been pre-soaked in a Soda Ash solution.

Now to the fun part, mixing the dye powder into the snow.  I used 4 litre ice cream pails and filled them about 3/4 full with snow. I added about 1 to 2 tsp of dye into each pail.  Stir the snow and dye powder well!

Now scoop your colors onto the fabric as high as you can and try not to mix the colours too much.  They will blend as the snow melts.

For the first fabric I used Fuchsia, Cerulean Blue and Raspberry and for the second I used Bright Yellow, Orange and Fuchsia.

The third has Bright Yellow, Cerulean Blue and Dark Green.  I had to still use one of my wood frames as I only have two Q-snap frames so far. :)

And now the results…
 

I’m loving these fabrics!!