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Monday, 31 October 2011

Question

I know that quite a lot of people have used hand dyed fabrics and I have a question about working with them.

I have the fabric from polstitches for my Winter Fairy but I am so scared of working with it. It says not guaranteed colourfast. I don't want to reach the end of the project and find that it's all dirty and then I can't actually wash it.

So a couple of questions

1. would you recommend washing it in a salt bath before starting just in case? To hold the colour? Or any other method anyone knows... I don't really want to lose the colour that is there because it is gorgeous.

2. How do you make sure your work stays clean?

3. If I did have to wash it some or all of it how would I go about it?

I think that is one of the reasons I haven't started the winter fairy yet, I just don't want to stuff up. I still need to make a QSnap cover that will fit the big size which will help keep it clean. That means being home with the sewing machine.

Caitlin



3 comments:

  1. I would be very careful about washing Polstitches fabric, especially linen... not colorfast is an understatement. Test a tiny corner and see if you like the effect. I tried rinsing a fabric that was very dark in an attempt to lighten it. TONS of dye came out of the fabric and ALL the yellow tones were completely lost. The rest of it lightened considerably, but it wasn't anything like the original color after washing. I won't be buying from Polstitches again.

    I rarely wash finished pieces because of beads and hand-dyed threads. Just make sure your hands are nice and clean before stitching and you should be fine. :) You could even get some of those gloves people wear when handling jewelry.

    http://www.amazon.com/Lightweight-Cotton-Gloves-Ladies-Small/dp/B0058EDNNY

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  2. I always work so the back of the fabric is coming over the q snap or roll frame...that way I am only hand holding the backside. Which means I mount my project backwards but it always keeps the front clean.

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  3. I hardly ever wash finished pieces - like Rahenna, I use a lot of hand-dyed flosses (in addition to using dyed fabrics). I always work with clean hands, and if I'm using a frame I mount it the way Gracie mentioned - on my scrolls it means I'm stitching "in" the frame rather than on top, hope that makes sense! But even when I have to stitch in-hand, I've rarely felt the need to wash anything.

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