(Attempted) Skin Tones : Parts 3 and 4

The quest for perfectly hand-dyed skin tones continues ...
See Parts 1 and 2 for the story up until now.

Here are the results of the test that Melissa from Fabric Dyeing 101 recommended in order to isolate and remedy the problem I seem to be having with results. It appears that the yellow wasn't contributing enough and the fuschia was overpowering everything else.

So I tried putting in a little more golden yellow to see if that would "normalize" the colors suitable for skin tones. I also tried a white muslin to start with. The aurora takes the colors so well and deepens them--which is GREAT for landscape colors, but not so great for what I'm after here ... In the test above, the small swatches are Aurora Muslin.

Still too green for skin tones. I might blame the Cotton Black being too green ... except not all the greens had black in it ...

Next I tried backing off on the Fuschia (I've got enough pink-ish fat quarters by now!) and doubling the yellow. These look more like what I'm after, but they look too washed out and lack vibrancy :


The Dyeing season is just about over for me now. I'm giving up on this project. Dyeing is a summer activity. When it's too hot to be in my sewing room upstairs, I retreat to the basement where it's cool and dark ...

I guess the lesson here is Hand dyeing is great if you're not expecting anything in particular. I have so many greens now, I'd better start making some tress!

(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!

(Attempted) Skin Tones Hand Dyes

Here's my attempt at a batch of hand-dyes for an up-coming portrait quilt.

I used Mellisa's recipe for skin tones on her excellent Fabric Dyeing 101 Blog/website. Here's what I was hoping for (Melissa's version) :

Mine didn't come out as rosey, and a lot more green. So what went wrong?

Could be temperatures. My workshop space may have gotten too cool by the time I stuffed in the fat quarters. I used Aurora Muslin--the good fabric, so fabric wasn't the issue.

I tried to map Melissa's dye colors to comparable options from ProChem. Maybe ProChem's Chino is more green?

Melissa's Dye Colors for Skin Tones from G&S Dye (Toronto) : Not quite equal at Prochem
Chino 600 : Chino 500N
Fuschia 408 : Fuschia 308
Golden Yellow 204 : Golden Yellow 104
Black 702 (greenish black) : Silk Black 610
Navy 512 : Navy 412


Other ideas? Please share ...

Maybe I'll overdye mine in Pink (my fuschia seemed to wash out in the rinse).
Maybe I'll save them for another project. They are pretty in their own right.
Maybe I'll purchase dyes from the company Melissa uses and see if I get better results on a second batch ...