Skip to main content

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

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

From my workshop page....

  Current Workshops  Offerings  Thinking of a workshop for your group in  2022?    Art Doll Workshops : -  Garden Thread Dolls  (one day workshop   -  WoW -(Woman of Wisdom)    - embellished stump doll with either cloth head or clay head.  This is an a rt doll workshop .... either offered as a series of workshops or  2 full days  days!   -  Message/Story  Stick doll  - doll made with found objects and upcycled cloth.  ( one day)    -  Elemental totems  - stick doll variation , with sculpture  ( one or two days, depending on surface decoration of fabric)  TEXTILE AND MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOPS    Temari - embroidered wrapped balls in traditional style.    - Dipping Into Tea  - tea and embroidery on canvas with photo transfer on fabric.  ( two days)  work by Judith Bee, workshop participant.  - Tea Bag sculpture : ...

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

 Background Information:  Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start  with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound  silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap.  2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...