When the snow is deep and fluffy AND you like to dye your own fabric, it’s time to grab fabric and go for it! But wait—it doesn’t have to be snowing! You can do the same thing, any time of the year, using ice. I recommend crushed ice, rather than cubes, but each will give you unique results. (Feel free to substitute the word ‘ice’ for each time you see ‘snow’ here.)
There is not a single way that is best, so I will mention alternatives as we go along. I will also assume that you have basic dyeing knowledge. (Good resources are both Dharma and ProChem.) One important first step is to gather up some tubs that will hold the fabric and snow and dye without leaking all over your floor. Some people put a grate or upside down container in the bottom of the tub so that the fabric doesn’t sit in the melted snow, but that is not a requirement.
Fabrics ready to be dyed…note that you do not need to start with white fabric. You can overdye other fabrics, or even printed commercial fabrics. Soda ash solution is the activator for Procion dyes. For this process, you can pre-soak your fabrics in it or you can mix it into your dyes. I prefer to pre-soak and let the fabric air dry, which does not work for the spur-of-the-moment snow day dyeing, so I try to have some fabric ready all the time! You can throw your fabric in any which way, or fold it or twist it or tie it, wet or dry–it doesn’t matter!
The snow is then piled in on top of the fabric and dye is put on the snow. You may use dye that has been mixed up with water or soda ash solution or you may use dry dye powders, or a combination.
The colors will mix and blend, but in very unpredictable ways, so remember your basic color theory! Now all you have to do is put your tubs in a warm place and wait for the snow to melt.
Here are the results I got on this day, having used colored fabrics, some with soy wax stamped on and some plain.
There are some muddy areas where the colors didn’t blend as I expected!
I know that some people put the snow tubs in a warm place, or cover with plastic and an electric blanket. There are recommendations for temps of 70ยบ or more, but in the winter, I don’t have a place that warm in my house! I just left the tubs in the basement ’till the next day and then soaked and washed as usual.
I have looked online at the results from others of their snow dye days and the results vary immensely. Some are breathtakingly beautiful! I’m happy with my results, and I think it’s worth playing some more. I always encourage fabric lovers to experiment and this experiment is easy enough for YOU to try.
If you are lucky, you can get someone else to haul in shovels-ful of snow for you, though! And if you want to have your snow day in July, you can always use ice cubes.
Blogger: Kathy Schmidt, Quirks Ltd. – First published in 2016