June's Tart Kit: Dyeing Cheesecloth

This month our Tart kit involves dyeing cotton cheese cloth with RIT dye.  You can also try painting it with transparent paints or dyeing it with Procion dyes. We like the cheese cloth for its wonderful texture; you can see the texture as well as feel it.  

Mix the RIT dye according to the directions on the package. If you use all the dye for the little bit of cheese cloth included in the kit, it will be really, really intense, so experiment with the value. Or try mixing the colors in varying proportions to see what color you might get. For our examples, we used very hot water and about a 10 minute soak time.

The cheese cloth can be batch dyed by immersing the entire piece into one color pot until it becomes the color you like.

Or you can put opposite ends into two colors and let them wick up into each other. We found that we were impatient and helped the color move along with spoons.

Or you can dip one end in one color for a time, squeeze out the excess moisture, and dip the other end into a second color. When the cheesecloth is the intensity you desire, rinse the excess dye out and let it air dry.

You can also dye the cheese cloth by painting it with the dye and the foam paintbrush. Try pouring the colors in different areas of the cloth and letting the dyes run together. This procedure will done with the cheese cloth flat - either stretched out or crumpled. Be sure you protect your surface. We used a tray to catch the liquid. While you're at it, dye another piece of cloth such as PFD cotton, or over dye a hand dye or commercial fabric. Let the piece dry and set. Rinse with warm water and air dry.

When the cheesecloth is dry you can deconstruct it by pulling on the threads or poking holes through it. Fray the edges or slash small areas with a seam ripper or scissors.

 

We included a small bottle of Elmer's glue so that you can create shapes or dimension to the cheese cloth by dipping it in diluted glue. Be careful that you don't glue it to paper or wood!

The cheese cloth can be machine or hand stitched to the surface of your quilt. Misty Fuse allows you to keep the transparency of the cheese cloth if you want to fuse it. Experiment with the dyes and see what fabulous "cloth" you can make. 

May Tart Kit: TAP

This month the Tart kit gives you materials for trying Transfer Artist Paper (TAP) with non-traditional surfaces. In addition to Lutrdur, metal sheets, and mica, you have received a sheet of images, acrylic paints, and parchment. TAP works great on fabric and certainly can be used in a project if you choose. But try it on these other surfaces and keep the results in your "might want to use later" file.

 Because these materials are non-porous, they will take a little more fiddling and your results won't be as crisp and clean as an image transfered to fabric. TAP will also work on wood and glass. Images can be printed onto the TAP or you can draw or paint with many coloring mediums. Be careful that you don't create holes with a sharp point or use too much water in the paints. Try using markers, colored pencils, paint, crayons, or charcoal.

Use the included images to copy to the TAP with your inkjet printer or find your own. The images can be colored with the acrylic paint, markers, or colored pencils before printing or before transfering. You will be doing your work on the white side of the TAP, not the purple side.

When you are ready to transfer, cut around the image. The white polymer of the TAP will show on non-white surfaces. Place the TAP face down onto the surface you want the image, cover with parchment, and press firmly with a hot iron for a short time. You can't overiron the TAP. When the image has transfered, peel the backing paper away while the paper is still warm. TAP will stick if you wait for it to cool.

The Lutradur is probably the easiest to use. We printed a black line drawing onto the TAP and colored it with the acrylic paints.

The metal sheets and mica take extra care. They are heat resistant and so might require a little longer press with the iron. As the TAP polymer melts, it can slip on these surfaces, so take care with your iron. These materials will be warm after pressing so be careful not to burn yourself. Lift the TAP carefully while it is still warm.

Being able to transfer images onto interesting surfaces will give you lots of flexibility in designing your art quilts. The Lutradur and metal can be sewn with your machine or by hand. If the mica is thin enough you may carefully sew it by hand or use glue to adhere the piece to your quilt.

April Tart Kit: Soy Wax Batik

This month's Tart kit gives you the supplies to try soy wax batik, a relatively simple way to make batiked cloth at home. You will be treating PFD fabrics with soda ash, stamping with wax and dyeing to apply color. This process can be simple with one layer of wax and one coloring. Or it can be more more complex with multiple layers of wax and multiple colors. It is up to you!

Before you use your fabric it must be pretreated with the soda ash to allow the dye to color the fabric. The soda ash in the kit can be dissolved in 4 cups warm water. Soak your fabric for 15 minutes and lay or hang to dry. Do not rinse the fabric. The remaining soda ash mixture can then be saved for more fabric if you store it in an air tight jar. In the meantime, prepare a padded stamping surface with several layers of newspaper. When the fabric is dry after the soda ash treatment, lay it flat on your prepared surface. Use the parchment paper to prevent newspaper ink from getting on your fabric.

You have been given about a quarter pound of soy wax and a small aluminum pan in which to melt it. Set your aluminum pan with the wax in a small frying pan with about a 1/2 inch of water and heat carefully. Soy wax melts at about 160 degrees so be careful not to burn it.

You can stamp with many different types of tools. Look around your house for interesting shapes. The soy wax will not damage the tool. It can be washed and used for its original use. It just has to be something that can get hot. We put in a plastic fork if you can find nothing else.

When the soy wax is melted, you can begin stamping. If you are using metal tools, allow them to warm to the temperature of the wax by placing them in the wax for a few minutes. As you stamp, you will want the wax to soak through the fabric rather than sit on the top of the fabric. If the wax isn't soaking in, it isn't warm enough.

This wax layer is "protecting" the color of the fabric which will not color when you add your dye. Use a small paper plate to catch your drips as you move from pan to fabric.

Allow the wax to cool and harden. Meanwhile mix up your dye. The intensity of the color will depend on much powder you use in relation to water. It will not take much to make light color; maybe 1/8 tsp in a 1/2 cup water. Use the latex gloves and a plastic or paper cup and a plastic spoon that can be thrown away later. You do not want to use utensils that will be used for food. If you will be adding multiple layers of wax and color, start light so that each successive color will overdye the one preceding it. If you are going to do one waxing and one color, you could use any intensity you like. The deeper the dye, the more the contrast with the white or light colored fabric base.

Put your waxed fabric into a plastic bag, add the dye mixture, seal the bag and massage the the fabric to completely saturate the fabric. Allow the fabric to batch for at least 4 hours.



When the fabric has batched, carefully pour the liquid dye down the drain and squeeze out the excess liquid from your batiked piece. Allow the fabric to dry flat or hang to dry. Once the fabric is dry, you can stamp again and follow the cycle of stamp, cool, color, and dry. The following photo shows a second layer of wax layed over the first. In this instance the green color will be "protected" in the next dyeing.

When you have finished waxing and dyeing, rinse the fabric under cold water until the water is clear.Take the piece to your ironing board which has been covered with several layers of newsprint, newspaper, or another type of paper that will absorb the wax as you heat it. Removing the wax will take some time and patience. Lay your fabric between two or more sheets of paper and press with a hot dry iron. You will see the wax become absorbed by the paper. You may need to replace the paper if you have a great deal of wax.

The last of the wax can be removed by detergent and boiling water. Fill your sink with very hot water and detergent and agitate the fabric. Rinse by pouring boiling water over the fabric. The soy wax will not harm your plumbing.

Once the wax is fully removed, press again. It may be slightly stiff, but that is the nature of batik. Enjoy using your own uniquely designed fabric.



The dyes in the kit were chosen to be side by side on the color wheel so that you can overdye with both and not get a muddy brown. You may choose to use other dyes or mix the powders themselves to get a third color. Below are examples of two overdyed pieces. The left one started as the avocado and was overdyed with the blue. The right piece was dyed with the blue first and overdyed with the avocado.

  



March Tart Kit: Earth Day Art

This month we have created a Tart kit that will celebrate Earth Day in April. We are going to make fabric from our shopping bags and other plastic. In the kit are several shopping bags, some white and some with color or pattern, as well as plastic mesh, and used thread. Your assignment is to use these items and add other plastic and "throw-aways" to the mix.

Start by opening up the plastic bags so that they are in a single layer. Arrange six layers one on top of each other. Those layers in the middle will not be visible so save the best bags for the outside or one layer down. You might use a layer of white bag to diffuse the bright layer. However, there isn't really one way to do layer the bags.

Cover the plastic with the pressing sheet included in your kit and iron the pile with a dry, hot iron. As the heat penetrates the plastic, it will fuse together. Iron both sides of the pile, always protecting your iron. The hot plastic will not stick to your ironing board cover. Too much heat will cause holes and too little will not fuse the plastic. Experiment.

The plastic will shrink and wrinkle. That's okay.

Add other plastic such as vegetable mesh bags, candy wrappers, celephane, etc or sequins, tissue paper, or other junk. Since the non-plastic items will not fuse, slip them between layers of bags.

Take the fused plastic to your sewing machine and free motion stitch the layers in a large overall pattern. This will hold everything together and add texture to the surface.

 

Foil can be added with the iron. It will adhere to the plastic without any adhesive. Again, be sure to protect your iron. You can also paint or stamp the plastic. Allow the paint to dry overnight.

When you have created your plastic fabric, use it in your project. It can be stitched together in patches, made into bags or purses, or as the background to a statement piece. Layer other fused plastic as appliques. If there is an Earth Day Art show in your community, consider entering your piece!

February Tart Kit: Quilt and Paint

Susan's sample is an example of a quilted and painted background. With multiple machine stitched patterns, she has created a very interesting background for her sunflower. This lesson is designed for you to practice the technique on a small piece before attempting it on a larger piece. It is a little scary to spend a lot of time quilting without knowing how the paint will look when it is done. Experiment with this little piece to get confident and then try it on a larger piece or one that could use a little pizazz!

The kit contains two pieces of fabric and a piece of batting. The intention of the lesson is for you to paint the black side, but it is up to you. Maybe you'll want to paint both sides. So layer your fabric and prepare it for free motion quilting or hand quilting.

This project is a great way for you to practice your free motion quilting. There are several sources for designs. The March issue of Quilting Arts has several articles about free motion quilting. Or check out Leah Day's free motion quilting project for 365 filler designs. We suggest that you do your quilting on the colored fabric with black thread as the top thread and in the bobbin rather than on the black side since it is very difficult to see what you are quilting. A thread that matches your fabric will be a subtle detail. Try a contrasting thread to see a different result.

When you have completed your quilting, it is time to paint. We have included Lumiere paint in the kit, but any fabric paint will work well. On your deli wrap or other palette, squeeze out a sizable amount of paint.

Load the foam roller with the paint. Depending on how much you started with, you may need to add more paint to the palette until the roller is filled with paint.

With a light touch, roll the paint roller across your quilted area. You want the paint to stay on the top of the fabric, rather than down into the stitched area. This may take a little experimentation.

As you can see, the paint creates a design element in contrast with the stitched areas. Multiple applications of paint can be added, or additional colors placed strategically. Also the paint can be applied with a paint brush if you want to highlight specific areas.

This lesson is great for changing the look of an old piece that didn't work. It might just need a layer of paint over the quilting. Adding paint over quilting may be perfect for highlighting one area of a large piece. Be daring and try it!