I admire the
work of artists who work spontaneously and successfully build on surprises but
regrettably, I am not one of them. I am much more a planner/implementer/control freak. Here is how I document dye color formulas so
I can get exactly the color I want.
With paint,
mixing the color you want is straight forward:
the color you have mixed will be the same when applied, allowing a bit
of shade change for wet to dry. With
dye, it is not so easy. The color you
see when you mix the dye bath only has a general resemblance to the color you
will get when the dye process is complete.
When I have tried to adjust a color bath that seems wrong by adding more
dye colors it has never turned out well! Unfortunately, What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get
does not apply to dyes.
The only way to really have control
of color is to test and keep accurate records.
Obviously, a swatch does you no good if you don’t remember what you did
to get it. For this, you need to measure
accurately and keep notes. I use a gram
scale that reads decimals to mix stock solutions with graduates and syringes to
measure as accurately as I can, but use whatever works for you. Write down what you did immediately—it all
goes vague and fuzzy really quickly.
Once you
know what you mixed and have a swatch of the final result, it’s time to put it
into a reference bank so you can always find that information in the
future. After several false starts, here
is how I now store my reference swatches.
I use blank
cardstock that is perforated for making business cards, but anything stiff
enough will work. I wrap a 2” x 3”
swatch around the card and tape it down.
The formula is written on the
card. I include the strength and
percentage of each stock color so I can easily adjust to different amounts of
fabric.
The payoff
for all this documentation is you always know how to get that fabulous burnt
pumpkin or vibrant limeade color again.
If you want a new color, reviewing the formulas used previously will
give you a good start on how to adjust them to get the desired new color.
Happy
swatching!
Wrenn Slocum
1 comment:
I'm with you Wrenn. Documentation discipline is essential. Often I think that I will record that dye recipe a bit later only to find it has completely disappeared from my mind!
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