THE COTTON DYE WORKSHOP

This is how cotton comes from the supplier. It has to be wound into skeins (demonstrated in a former blog post HERE), thoroughly washed in very hot water with super-detergent, rinsed, and spun out.



Here it is clean and damp, awaiting its turn in the dye vat.





But first it has to be soaked in washing soda.





There are stock dye solutions in the bottles, and the dyes are mixed in plastic cups. Don't worry, I never drink out of these!




Here is the cotton with freshly applied dye. It has to sit around for a while for the dye to set. So pretty!



Now comes the (groan) finishing process. First, a hot Synthrapol soak. Then a bath or two in hot detergent. Then several rinsings.




The goal is to have clear rinsewater like this!



After all that, things get pretty tangly!



Untangled and hung up to dry. But not finished! After drying comes a trip to the scanner, publishing to the website, balling up, and mailing off!


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