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