Wednesday, May 28, 2008

DYEING MORE REDS

Here are some more reds (and greens not very visible at the back) that I am dyeing for the next piece(s).

some reds and greens

Another watery picture which I like, though not as effective as the the photo of the yellows.  I decided I wanted some strident magentas.  But something peculiar happened.

SCARLET VERSUS MAGENTA

The brilliant red on the left is the exact same color as its neighbor to the right--pure, unadulterated Washfast Acid Magenta.  The left one is dyed at 2% depth of shade.  Its neighbor is dyed at 1% depth of shade.  The one on the left, dyed at 2% DOS clearly verges on scarlet.  In real life, the magenta cast is obvious but it still leans very close to scarlet. But the neighbor to the right, dyed at 1% DOS, is clearly magenta.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SAMPLING

The next two red jars (the second one barely visible) are also dyed with Washfast Acid magenta at 2% and 1% depth of shade resepectively.  But to them I added a bit of blued green to take the edge off a bit.  What is interesting is that the 2% magenta with the blued green added looks much more magentish than the 2% pure magenta! 

When I added the bit of blued green to the two jars of magenta, I was flying by the seat of my pants, so to speak.  That is, I was using my eye to judge how much to add. I had not, in other words, done any sampling.

THE POWER OF MAGENTA

When I added the bits of blued green,  I "knew" intellectually that WF Acid Magenta is a very potent dye;  now I now experientially as well!  And i know also know that visual judging is not necessarily a particularly good idea.

© 2008

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

They all look like they will be beautiful to work with, and I'm sure you'll find just the right way and place to use the more scarlet one -- if not the upcoming piece, one down the road. I really like the clarity of the colors.

The yellows look like they came our really well, too -- fuschia, yellow, almost tropical. I'm very interested to see 'the rest of the story.' :)

I recently picked up a lovely silk and camel blend that will be hitting the dye pots after we come back from vacation (we're leaving in 2 weeks and I've lots to do before then -- still granny cleaning the house -- not nearly as much fun as dyeing!).

Cheers,
Jane

Peg in South Carolina said...

Jane, glad you like the colors. I am sure they will all get used. The silk and camel hair sounds lovely.

neki desu said...

great colors! How can dyeing be such fun?
And let me assure you, once you've dyed for some more years you'll develop eye judgment skills:)
Thanks for your comment on my blog.


best

neki desu

Peg in South Carolina said...

Thanks, Neki. And I have been dyeing for more than 10 years---longer than I have been weaving. I thought I could trust my eyes, but in this case, no. Not that I am unhappy with what I got! But, as in weaving, if there is something something particular I want in terms of color, I really have to sample first. I think this probably has to do with the rate of uptake of different colors in the mix especially when I mix Sabraset and Washfast acid dyes together. How the color first appears won't be how it finally appears because of this difference in uptake.