Quietfire
Design's
Techniques Gallery
*links go to www.quietfiredesign.ca This article first appeared in the November 2005 byhand Newsletter
I love the look of hand-dyed silk ribbon, but can't always find the colour I want to compliment my artwork. In this Altoid tin I made for a byhandartists swap, necessity became the mother of invention. I picked up some white silk ribbon at my supplier's thinking I would dye it with Procion dyes. Well, sometimes I just can't wait for something to dry or I'm too lazy to mix up dyes, so I grabbed a dye ink stamp pad (in this case it was a Memories pad) and ran the silk ribbon across the surface. Well, lo and behold, it worked just fine. I held the ribbon against the stamp pad using that all purpose tool, the spatula, to keep my fingers clean. And by pressing the ribbon into another colour in just a few places, I could get the varigated look I was after. If you need a quick dry, you can iron the dyed ribbon with a Craft Iron. Good thing it won't be getting washed in the washing machine! Ah, what we alterlings and book artists can get away with...... Happy dying!
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