How to use wax to dye fabric

For getting crinkle pattern among tie-dyeing,  we usually crumple fabric and fix by thread. The pattern size and shape are up to the nature of fabrics. The thin fabric can make fine pattern but it's really difficult to get the perfect cracking even though the crumpling is so elaborate. Then, using wax can be the solution to get more elaborate and detail cracking rather than using the thread.
I would like to show the precess of cracking using wax in this posting. I tested with Silk Dupioni Organza but the cotton can be idealistic for doing this process.

Cracking dyeing with red color on white fabric.

Made red cracking on the fabric dyed yellow color.

Process to dye with wax

The paraffin or wax could be used and I did use soywax. The soywax can be removed easily by water so I didn't need to use chemicals for removing wax. But soywax was not removed perfectly, too. The remaining was need to be absorbed to the oilpaper. Then, let me explain the precess shortly.

1. First of all, boil wax or wax to be melted and apply it to the whole fabric prepared for cracking using a brush.

2. For making red cracking on the yellow basis then dye the fabric with yellow color and then apply the soywax on the fabric. I have used the yellow fabric which is dyed with gardenia.

3. When the soywax is dried completely, crumple by hands like the photo below. Do crumple when we crumple paper. The left one is for red cracking on yellow basis like explained above, the right one is for red cracking on white basis.

4. Put the crumpled fabric into the dyeing solution. The cracking pattern is made when the dyeing solution percolate to the gaps which have made by hand crumpling to chip off the soywax.



5. Soywax needs to be removed in boiling water after dyeing. I've used silk so couldn't put it in extremely hot water that caused the soywax wasn't removed perfectly, but the cotton can remove the soywax by boiling water. Then I used oilpaper, put the fabric between oilpaper and did ironing so that the remaining soywax can be absorbed into the oilpaper.

I've done this precess for the test of elaborate cracking on Silk Dupioni Organza but when I do Batik work, normally I use cotton. I think cotton is more suitable fabric to this work that can remove the soywax ideally. But if you use a see-through fabric like silk organza  in a small work, you may get gorgeous hand dyed fabric which is useful for interior props like lightings.

How to dye with onion skins

The onion skin is a useful material which is got lots of coloring easily. People who know I do natural dyeing around me give the materials from time to time. The onion is easy for getting color but only skin is used for dyeing so collecting of large amount of skin is quite uneasy. If you are interested in natural dyeing, spread about your interest to others. You may get much onion skin like me.

Let's start looking the onion skin dyeing. This is the basic way of natural dyeing using vegetable. I've used the Silk Dupioni Organza but the usual silk also can get the similar color, too. Though the cotton's color is lighter than silk's as I always say that the silk likes vegetables.

1. Boil water with dried onion skin. Keep boiling it for 20 mins more after it comes to a boil.  
I used 2L of water and 50g of onion skin.

2. Prepare the dyeing solution sift the filter net out.

3. Do the second decoction through step1 and 2 once again. It means that pour water to the onion skin what was extracted once and boil it for second decoction. This time the water needs the half amount of the beginning(1L). The onion skin can be third decoction caused by a plentiful color.

4. Combine the first, second and third dyeing solution together. Cool the added solution approximately down as 60 degrees and dye the fabric for 30 mins. 

5. Use Alum as a fixative. 

Soak the fabric in 60 degrees' water contained alum (5% of the fabric weight) for 30 mins. 

This step is for mordant dye.  

6. Rinse in water and dry it in shade.

The result of dyeing is satisfied though the onion skin was small quantity. The gardenia dyeing makes yellow color and the onion skin makes orange color like nearly gold.

I have tried shibori(a pole-wrapping technique)  pattern dye.

About Silk Dupioni Organza

I want to introduce the Silk Dupioni Organza. This silk is different from Silk Dupioni (=douppioni ) or Silk Organza.  This is translucent silk which is reeled off raw silk from Dupioni cocoons, one of the Korean traditional fabrics. When I've seen this silk for the first time, I was memorized by it. I couldn't think that it was silk because it looked very different with other silks that I used to know, but I had a memory seen it used for the fabric of  'Hanbok', the Korean traditional clothes.



I know that some countries produce rarely Dopioni Organza. But then Korean Dupioni Organza has characteristic features and beutifulness. May you have already known of Organza silk. It's a stiff and transparent fabric used for interior decorations or cloths. Then, have you heard about Dupioni(=douppioni) silk?  Silk Dupioni is made by reeling off raw silk from more than two silkwoms in a cocoon. When two worms spin their cocoons close together, the fibers get tangled up. These naturally tangled fibers are then used together to make thread. The thread contains bumps and irregularities where the fibers from the two cocoons are combined.

 

The Korean Silk Dupioni Organza has features both of organza and silk dupioni, and traditional fabric used for Hanbok, the Korean traditional clothes. Korean call this fabric 'Oksa' which is made in many areas in Korea. There is differences of a sort of Oksa from a matter of stiff, a matter of transparent or slubs density. The weaving way is also bit different but most of all are produced in traditional way. Some producers still use the traditional way 100% and that silks are considered high-quality goods. Others 'also' use a traditional way but use electricity so it is semiautomatic weaving way. So the fabric can be more vintage and natural. Producible width is so limitative ; only two, but all Hanbok producers make the cloth as these size's fabrics; age-old sizes which are became two of the width of Oksa in entire Korea area. 

Let me explain the features of Korean Silk Dupioni Organza. The Korean Silk Dupioni Organza has not only irregular slubs but also irregular stairs from different thickness parts of thread. These features make transparency difference after dyeing.

These naturally irregulars in texture make the silk more vintage. The below  picture is one of the Korean Silk Dupioni Organza that I use most often. The irregularities of slubs and stairs are enough, not too much so it can be used when I want to make works to be simple and vantage. I will explain the other types of Oksa after explanation about genaral features of Oksa.



The another feature of this silk is that displays like different depth of color with a brightness of the light. This is the most biggest feature of see-through fabrics, nylon chiffon or tulle also have, but the beautifulness of this silk is incommensurale with them. Especially, transparency of  Silk Dupioni Organza  and gloss of silk are united with the light so the patchwork by it looks like staind glass. It is 100% natural silk from nature therefore better in varying intensities of natural light than others.

The next picture is patchwork of Silk Dupioni Organza, you can see the color changing by locations of lightings.

To make a long story short for understanding easily, the Silk Dupioni Organza is vintage organza silk. As I mentioned already, a variety of Silk Dupioni Organza is produced in Korea but they are not assortative. The Oksas, gained from the fibers get tangled up and a thickness difference have irregular stairs and slubs. All kinds of them are called Oksa and are used without division. The sellers sell them without division as well, so I have to see and choose the fabric directly. The Oksa is bit different again even if I buy them from the same seller because of the condition of season and coccons and also the traditional weaving way. It means that the Silk Dupioni Organza that I'm using at the moment is a real natural fabric which can't be made as a same.

I mainly use the Silk Dupioni Organza and I assort the silks in my own way as purposes. Actually, the silk is classifiable detailedly by fabrics thickness and fineness but the differences are so slight as the crafter who use the fabric doesn't really do it. Anyway I'll show you different kinds of Silk Dupioni Organza.

For comparison, this is general silk Organza not Dupioni.(below)

This is the general Korean Oksa(Silk Dupioni Organza), has slubs fitly and texture irregularities frequently. It can be a difference of softness by boiling off way but it is stiff which is a feature of Silk Organza.(below)

This Oksa is woven with less slubs and stairs so it is bit softer and more glossy than Silk Dupioni Organza above. However it's also organza so it has gloss feeling and crispy like paper. People like it more vintage in Korea so usually use the general Oksa above, but I use this one when I want to make the work more modernistic.(below)

This fabric is woven to make dense slubs so that emphasize the vintage feature. so it's expensive than others. This is extremely irregular in texture which is naturally beautiful as itself without any dyeing and more beautiful when it is dyed as natural colors. When I do chemical dyeing, I mix dyeing paints to make the paints look like natural colors and this fabric is suitable for that.(below)

Lastly, it is not Silk Dupioni Organza to be exact, but I want to explain it because it's woven with Silk Dupioni and has see-through feature. This is mix cotton and Silk Dupioni, less soft and stiff than Silk Dupioni Organza. Cotton's features make it's dyeing color light and tone down.(below)

Like this, I assort Oksa into three types and put the fine fabric into three of them at time of purchase.  And I dye this Silk Dupioni Organza and do Patchwork. Also do painting from time to time but that's not easy on it which has a feature like tulle. On the other hand, it is very good for Natural dyes especially with vegetables and flowers because it's a 100% silk. I'm planning to do posting mainly about dyeing, making tie-dyed patterns, sewing, drawing with this silk on this blog. If you have any interests in the Silk Dupioni Organza, please do not hesitate sending me any messages.   euntextile@gmail.com

About me

Hello,
I'm studying and working to be textile designer and crafter. I'm the type of person who loves pure art, so I design by hands not machine.  Actually I like drawing and it's been my preferred hobby for many years. So when I decided to change my field three years ago, I could choose well  what I want to do without hesitation.
I studied how to dye fabric using Natural Dyes,  and also about korean traditional textile. I'm Korean :)  When I was studying them I made Natural dyeing Color swatch and many things with natural dyed fabric.



My second hobby is travel. I love travel. But If I don't like drawing I might not like travel. I always try to learn textile art of the countries where I visit. It makes me to go there alone even if there're not popular tour place. When I visited Indonesia and Malaysia, I wanted to learn how to paint 'Batik' so I went to Yogyakarta.
                                 
This is my first Batik painting :)

This one is another way to do batik using stamps.



Last winter I have been to Hawaii and stayed there around three months for my vacation and also learning English. I'm the one who likes textiles and crafts, so I couldn't let myself go without knowing about Hawaii quilt. :)  Of course I learned. But I've not finished yet.

I'm still studying about textile design and craft, and I also started work. When I'm studying about Korean textile art, there was specific fabric what fascinated me, so I studied a lot about that fabric. The one was silk that kind of Organza Silk. In Korea, we make Hanbok(Korean traditional clothes) for summer with that. The reason opening this blog is to introduce that silk. (even though my English is not perfect)  If you're intrested in textile crafts or dyeing, you can get some information about special silk. I'll try to give you useful things. Thank you for reading this.