Ice Dyeing with Shibori Folds

Ice dyed Cotton Lawn Fabric

Instructions:

• Soak light to medium weight cotton fabric in a soda ash soak (1 cup soda ash to 1 gallon of warm water) for 20 minutes
• Using gloves, squeeze out the excess liquid and lie the fabric flat on a large table. Fan fold it with about 1 inch pleats keeping it as even as possible.
• Outside on a hot day, I then placed the folded cloth on a screen. I used a length of white wire shelving you find at hardware stores with a length of tulle like fabric on top of it. This allowed the water to flow through it as the ice melted. The shelving was elevated on some plastic tubs to catch the drips

• The ice was piled on top of the fabric.
• Using a dust mask, to avoid inhaling the dust particles I sprinkled powdered fiber reactive dyes across the folds. The colours for each piece were carefully selected to create specific colour combinations.

• Everything was covered with plastic and left to sit for 24 hours.
• Then each cloth was rinsed quickly in cold water under the tap and placed in a bucket of cold water for several hours to allow excess dye to run out. After that the excess water was squeezed out and the fabric was washed in hot water using a textile detergent, then rinsed in cold water until the water was clear.
• The fabric was then pressed dry. 

You can find some of my hand dyed fabrics at Puffin Designs - Fantastic Things for Interior Design .