Yes, you’re right, I’m hooked on this rust dyeing and yes, this is another long post, you might want to grab a coffee first *LOL*
Wanted to try out some different things with the rust dyeing this weekend.
I read somewhere that if you soaked the fabrics first in Soda Ash you would get splashes of a turquoise colour showing through. This didn’t seem to happen with the Caustic Soda method but I aim to try it with the other method of rust dyeing.
I wondered what would happen if I laid objects, some of them rusty, on top of the fabrics while they were drying. This piece was dipped in Caustic Soda then a piece of thread was dipped in Ferrous Sulphate and laid on the top – you can see the line and also see where some of the liquid dripped.

This one was dipped in Ferrous Sulphate then a piece of bubble wrap was dipped in Caustic Soda and laid on top. You can just about see the bubbles. I think the fact that it started to rain and I had to move everything into the garage didn’t help. The rusty pieces of metal I laid on top of some of them didn’t make any difference at all.
With this piece I dipped it in Ferrous Sulphate, folded it up then dipped in Caustic Soda. I opened it while it was still wet and the colours were gorgeous – lots of blues and rusty browns – but once the air got to it the blues disappeared. Not sure if they would have stayed in even if I had left the piece to dry thoroughly before opening it up.I decided to over dye some of the pieces from previous sessions with Indigo Blue Procion dye. Some were from the Caustic Soda method and some from the Lois Jarvis method of rust dyeing. I made a fairly weak solution and only left the fabric to soak in the dye bath for an hour, I didn’t want the Indigo to be too vibrant. I folded some and wrapped them with rubber bands and put marbles inside a couple of the pieces. The velvet pieces look wonderful. (I also over dyed a long length I had rusted which I then cut out ready to make a corset but I see that Anna has already come up with that idea, so I shall have to shelve that one. Take a look at Anna’s Snow White assemblage – it’s fabulous.)Sometimes the backs look just as good as the front.This is the back and front of a piece of linen which I was rather pleased with.I then decided to do the same with some ‘fresh’ rusted pieces that were still damp and hadn’t been rinsed out. I put more dye powder in this time and left the fabric soaking for longer. After dyeing and rinsing they still retained a lot of the deeper coloured rust which doesn’t normally happen after rinsing. I wondered if it was anything to do with the dye solution. These are the results from the front:And from the back:This is the piece that I had laid the thread on top of.These pieces also make me wonder if the Procion dye bath solution has some sort of effect. This is canvas fabric that had been dip dyed some time ago. I had some rust solution left over and rather than waste it I just grabbed these and dipped them in. The rust seems to have only taken in places and although they have been rinsed it still retains a lot of the original rust colour.Close upsThis is a piece of machine knitted lace which started out a cream colour. I knew it wouldn’t take the Procion dye too well as it is wool but decided to give it a try anyhow.Sue wrote on her blog Magic Armchair Stitcher that her son said of the pieces she had dyed that they looked ‘dirty, used and worn’ which has made me view some of the pieces I wasn’t too pleased with in a different light. Some of them certainly do look old and worn.

I put some pale blue cotton velvet in the rust solutions and it came out like this:I then over dyed it and this is what it finished up like:Two pieces of rusted heavyweight Lutradur, the piece on the right was then over dyed. You wouldn’t really know that it had been in a Procion Indigo dye bath but it has made the colours darker.And this is a piece of black Lutradur. Photo taken on a white background so doesn’t show up too well but it looks really rusty.So then I got to thinking: If the best results of this method are on paper then why not bond some paper to fabric and see how that works out.
So that’s what I did! Some worked, some didn’t. The best results were from tissue paper: Abaca, dressmaking pattern paper and plain tissue. They were all bonded onto cotton fabric with Bondaweb.I printed on these pieces of tissue paper before bonding them to the fabric.I even managed to use some previously rusted pieces for the Calendar Girls postcard for July. Its two layers of Lutradur which I had printed the flower design on, the top layer was burnt back at the edges which were rubbed over with Walnut Ink. These were laid over a piece of rust dyed cotton velvet. Some of the vase was then machine stitched and copper coloured beads were added to the centre of the flowers. This month’s one goes to Carol McFee. Take a look at the Calendar Girls blog to see all the fabulous cards from the other group members.This is the picture we have to work on for the August postcard.
What on earth am I going to do with this???

I started on another painted quilt – as you do when you should really be doing something far more important :)
This one isn’t right though. It needs a splash of something else and not only that there is a crease up near the top. It’s from the backing fabric would you believe. Never noticed it when I stitched it all together, only after I painted it. Surprised that it showed up through two layers of cotton canvas and the wadding, let alone the paint on top.As I said, the background is cotton canvas over which I laid a piece of scrim before stitching. Once stitched, I ripped some of the scrim back and made French knots from thick cotton thread around the edges. The close ups show the real colours better as the light reflects back off the surface too much in the full photograph.Metallic Surfaces
Bubble Wrap, Metallic Wax Crayons, Metallic Powders and Acrylic Inks this week – nothing new. Only problem with this surface is it does eventually lose its sheen and the bubble wrap goes misty. So for these ones I painted on a coat of Polymer Medium, not only does it improve them now I'm also hoping it keeps them looking vibrant for longer.
Simple technique, you just lay down a sheet of bubble wrap on top of baking parchment, grate Metallic Wax Crayons on top, sprinkle some Metallic Powder over (while wearing a mask of course!)and a few drops of Acrylic Ink, cover with another layer of bubble wrap followed by another layer of baking parchment and iron with a hot iron until you hear the bubbles pop. Great fun. Some of them have also had a light coat of Acrylic Ink over the top. They have been photographed on a black background which shows them better.Some years ago my daughter used this technique for one of her finished pieces on her Mixed Media college course. It was based on a reptilian project she was doing. Have cut out the models face as I’m not sure who she was so haven’t asked permission.Very much doubt if it looks like this now.
I could go on forever here, but I will leave you with these that have just come into my possession.50 of them – marble sized ball bearings.
Kate is organising another ALQS and I have plans to use them in an art quilt, along with this, for my secret partner, whoever he/she may be. :)
Just one more thing, I wanted to push you in this direction here. It’s the work of Marijke de Boer, a piece she just created using instant mashed potatoes of all things. I thought of you Val and your tree bark pieces. Isn’t this a wonderful piece?