Prepared for Dyeing supplies
A few weeks back I made a custom flag from scratch for some dear friends and I really wanted to share a bit of the process here. I had made a similar one in the past for them and was looking forward to a revisit to batik dying after learning a lot the first time around.
First on the list of essential supplies that made this project a success was a couple yards of PFD Kona Cotton (Prepared For Dyeing) which I found at my local Quilt Shop. PFD means that no extra starches or sizers were used to treat the fabric which allows for as much dye to be soaked up as possible.
Above you will see the image I used to trace the design onto the cotton. I reversed the colors of the original file to reduce how much ink would be used by the printer and split it into 4 parts so that it would fit on standard paper. I taped it to the cotton and traced it with a pencil. I wanted mostly the shapes and larger details to use as a guide and was not concerned with drawing on finer details. I also procured a very large hand quilting hoop to stretch the cotton in making it much easier to move around and also keeping it very flat.
Tjanting tool and double boiler for wax
Here you see essential tool #2 – a Tjanting. This I would use to dip into the hot beeswax and then draw with. This clever tool has a wide opening on the top (facing away in the top pic unfortunately) and a fine funnel tip at the end. Check out this video to see a sample of some girls using this tool and also a large wooden stamp being used.
CRAP!
Things were going well – slow but steady, but then in a mindless accident I tipped my tjanting and spilled hot wax all over the middle! AGH! I had to literally put down the tool and walk away I was so upset. No seam ripper would fix this mistake unfortunately.. well, this is why I traced TWO flags to do. It is always good to have a backup plan and I knew I wanted to make 2 anyway incase something happened in the dye bath, but perhaps I jinxed myself. I carried on and finished the little woodgrain lines. That part took the longest, but was probably also the most fun part of the flag to do.
Another oops moment
Here I learned that if you decide to take a break it is best to take your tool OUT of the wax first. The wax must be very very hot in order to penetrate the fibers fully. You can tell the wax is not hot enough when it starts sitting on top of the fabric instead of soaking in. Having the fabric in the hoop made it very easy to flip over and check the back when I was done to touch up any spots.
Dye Bath in the sink
After waxing both flags they went into the sink with some extra strong black dye. I left them in there for at least an hour or so and would stop by and gently stir them around to make sure there wouldn’t be any funny creases in the black. At this point it is important to not bend the wax too much because it will actually crack and allow bits of black dye to seep in. That is a strong characteristic of batik dying, but for this project I did not want much crackling.
Ironing out the wax
Here is another time where I took an easier route than last time. I ironed out all the wax using some old newspaper. I did this outside since the wax fumes can be stinky and bad for you. I did feel a little bad for how much newspaper it took to soak up all that wax, but I have to admit it was ten hundred times easier and faster than trying to boil all the wax out.
Inspection
Here is Kuma looking somewhat unimpressed with my accomplishments.
Finally - A Flag!
Here is the final flag after hemming the sides and adding grommets. I used a fabric screenprinting ink that was slightly watered down to paint in the red bottle and heat seat that with the iron. I also had to touch up that horrible mistake with some black ink, which was still visible but not worth trashing the flag over. My friends absolutely loved their two flags which is what was important in the end and totally worth the time spent sitting next to the hot pot.
I am really looking forward to using my PFD cotton scraps and tjanting tool to dye some fabrics to incorporate into my sewing. The website I linked to earlier Dharma Trading Co has a ton of yummy looking dyes that I am itching to order now! I am also thinking it would be fun to wax some patterned fabric to dye.
