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Fabric Tags for Tag Tuesday

At Tag Tuesday, this fortnight Sandie is hosting the Steampunk/Mechanical challenge. Although this isn't a theme I usually tackle, Sandie's tags are so fantastic and inspirational that I was motivated to create a tag this afternoon.



I had some fabrics on my desk which I discharge dyed last week.and this piece with the addition of a few copper cogs reminded me of " industrial and mechanical" .

The way the background fabric was created was by applying bleach gel with a roller over the top of a plastic stencil. The fabric was originally a  bluish dark grey   cotton, When the bleach had removed the colour, the process was halted with a commercial  neutralizing solution  called AntiChlor. I have been told that a vinegar solution  will also stop the discharge of colour and act as a neutraliser.

The metal cogs were stitched on to the fabric by hand.
Here are  a couple of great resource sites for discharging colour with bleach.
- Threads Magazine article 
 - All about Dyeing FAQ




Similarly, I used another piece of fabric which had been prepared using the same process seemed to fir very well for the previous Tag Tuesday theme "Black , white and spot of colour" This tag was not only inspired by the great tags  created by Valerie. It was also by a sunset we experienced last week, just before a severe but spectacular April storm. The technique is the same as above, but instead of using a stencil, I sponged bleach around  plastic template of a stylised tree.


I machine stitched around the shape and across the piece . I also highlighted some of the colour remaining with coloured pencil.

I have recently been finding it hard to keep up with Tag Tuesday, but I am trying to continue because I enjoy the challenges, and I have received  such great support and encouragement from the Tag Tuesday team.
Thanks, Tag Tuesday. 



Discharge dye samples - Wilma Simmons 


Comments

  1. I really like your fabric pieces - great to use as backgrounds for this challenge!! Both tags are awesome!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow..love your Tags..love the fabric background..so unusual.
    Thank you so much Wilma for supporting my theme and challenge at Tag Tuesday...x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely tag Wilma, and love the discharge pieces. I'm a textile lady at heart and did some snow dyeing earlier when we had 6ft of snow in the garden.

    ReplyDelete
  4. the fabric backgrounds are absolutely brilliant! wow! fab tags! xo

    ReplyDelete

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