Dye class: Testfabric swatch books
Jan. 29th, 2013 12:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labricoleuseThis semester's crafts course is Dyeing, Surface Design, and Distressing/Aging. We spend the first third of the class on the nuts and bolts of dye as a medium--fiber identification, different classes of dye and how to use them properly, how to select the right type of dye for a given project, color matching, and discharging of dye (color removal).
Part of this first section involves the making of a Testfabric swatch book. We use Testfabric MFF 43, a multifiber fabric woven with stripes of 13 different common fiber types, from cotton to acetate to wool to polypropylene. In this manner, you can see how a particular type and shade of dye affects a whole range of fiber contents.
The first collection of Testfabric swatches the students create uses the Rit Professional Line of dyes, which are the most common dye range found in theatrical dyeshops. In the past, students have assembled these swatches into whatever type of resource they prefer--a ring of them like a haircolor wheel, a notebook of them stapled to cardstock, a folding poster of them that can be mounted on a wall.
This time around, they've all decided on a binder organization method that i like so much i'm going to redo my own Testfabrics set the same way!
Testfabric swatches of Rit dyes by third-year grad Candy McClernan
Check these things out! They are coupon/currency organizer sleeves, for paper-currency collectors or those super-coupon-clipper people who shop with binders and wind up paying like $2 for three cartloads of groceries. However, they're also perfect for Testfabric swatches, too! The plastic sleeve protects the swatch from paint drips or errant dye particles in the environment of the dye shop, but also allows you to remove the swatch and take it into a fitting or design consultation.
I like this so much better than swatches stapled to cardstock or pinned to a corkboard. I can't wait to redo my own notebook with them!
Part of this first section involves the making of a Testfabric swatch book. We use Testfabric MFF 43, a multifiber fabric woven with stripes of 13 different common fiber types, from cotton to acetate to wool to polypropylene. In this manner, you can see how a particular type and shade of dye affects a whole range of fiber contents.
The first collection of Testfabric swatches the students create uses the Rit Professional Line of dyes, which are the most common dye range found in theatrical dyeshops. In the past, students have assembled these swatches into whatever type of resource they prefer--a ring of them like a haircolor wheel, a notebook of them stapled to cardstock, a folding poster of them that can be mounted on a wall.
This time around, they've all decided on a binder organization method that i like so much i'm going to redo my own Testfabrics set the same way!
Testfabric swatches of Rit dyes by third-year grad Candy McClernan
Check these things out! They are coupon/currency organizer sleeves, for paper-currency collectors or those super-coupon-clipper people who shop with binders and wind up paying like $2 for three cartloads of groceries. However, they're also perfect for Testfabric swatches, too! The plastic sleeve protects the swatch from paint drips or errant dye particles in the environment of the dye shop, but also allows you to remove the swatch and take it into a fitting or design consultation.
I like this so much better than swatches stapled to cardstock or pinned to a corkboard. I can't wait to redo my own notebook with them!
