Sunday, September 02, 2007

(Attempted) Skin Tones - Part 2

Here's my second attempt at dyeing skin tones according to Melissa's recipe at Fabric Dyeing 101.

Here's the first attempt with ProChem dyes :


Here's what I was shooting for (Melissa's example) :


This time, I used the same G&S Dyes from Canada that Melissa used, hoping for better results than the translated colors from ProChem. In the dye pots, things looked promising--rich and rosier colors ... but in the rinse cycle, the rosy colors went down the drain, leaving me with the alien green skin tones. Sigh!

Lesson Learned :
Dyes are not the same from different dye houses.
The dye powder for ProChem's Chino is muddier, browner.
The dye powder for G&S's Chino is brighter, brassier and warmer ...

Next steps : I will try re-dying / over-dying the ones that seemed to lose the red/fuschia to see if it will stick this time.
Check temperatures for water. Am I using water that is too hot?

Here's the Third Round where I took the first 4 fabs from sets 1 and 2 above, and over-dyed them with the fuschia that seemed to disappear :

I thought that came out too intense, so I took these outside with a spray bottle of bleach solution(1 cup water + 2/3 cup bleach) and discharged them for less than 5 minutes :
They're looking better, but still not quite right for skin. Hmmmh ....

Maybe I'll try Dharma's Chino, yet, too ... This has become quite a challenge for me!

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