Ice Cube Dyes
Summer is here with temperatures in the high nineties here in Texas.
Dyeing with ice cubes seemed a dandy idea.
I am a sloppy dyer—not messy–but I am always intrigued by randomness. I suppose that would mean I’m a fan of Dada art although most of what I’ve seen looked pretty weird.
But back to my efforts!
I collected two tall Vlasic pickle jars, two containers of MX dye and a packet of Cushman dye–a friend gave them to me–the directions required a lot of boiling–not something I wanted to do on a hot afternoon. I also got my box of washing soda, some bits of fabric both cotton and silks and a ball of bamboon yarn.
The method is pretty simple, soak the fabric in a solution of washing soda, then wring it out so it is relatively dry–or it could be totally dry–I just didn’t want to wait. Put the fabric in the jar, layer on some ice cubes and sprinkle a small amount of dye powder over the cubes. Continue until you have used up all your fabric or the jar is full.
Let all of this ‘set’ for a day or maybe two. Then drain it and rinse.
This was great particularly since I discovered my washing machine had the capability of doing an extra rinse–eliminating one step by hand.
The ball of bamboo yarn was a great idea until I realized that it was wound around a piece of cardboard which turned into smush- and necessitating a very consuming unwinding project. Maybe next time I’ll rewind the yarn onto a plastic core–or maybe just stick that plastic core through the cardboard.
My husband did ask if they didn’t have the yarn in the color I wanted. Of course not–and now I have a water bottle wound with some luscious bamboo yarn.
Sylvia Weir Art 
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