April 02, 2004
Grape press two-step
Imagine poor Tammy’s surprise when she decided to check on Johann and me this evening after we had been “quiet” for almost an hour and found the two of us stripped down to our skivvies doing the two step in the tub.
The day before yesterday I dyed some linen yardage and a few t-shirts, mostly experimenting with different resist patterns using shibori techniques. Last night and this afternoon I unwrapped and did the first and second rinses in the sink. After the second rinse I hand-wash the fabric in Ivory soap and warm water. This is followed by a final rinse. Johann enjoys helping with the wash and final rinse and has dubbed himself my apprentice. Usually we use a stainless steel pot in the tub and stir it with a section of PVC pipe. Of course we have also experimented with “contraptions” using a few lengths and sections of pipe to get the water into the bucket. It can get a bit wet and interesting!
Usually I get Johann to take off his shirt—which always seems to be a long-sleeved white t-shirt—and then we stand outside the tub. Today though he got smart on me, noticing that I wasn’t taking off my shirt. Somehow we both ended up stripped down, and since we were, we stepped into the tub. It actually made it easier than using the stainless steel pot. We just added a small amount of Ivory and marched around stirring the water and stomping to agitate the fabric. As the water turned blue, along with our feet and legs, (procion turquoise tends to bleed out the most) we drained the tub and fed in more warm water.
While it was the easiest wash and rinse session, I think I will try to keep to the old way as much as possible. Of course the wash and final rinse is only needed because we don’t have a washer and dryer in the apartment. There is a wash room in the building, but I need to make sure that the excess dye is fully rinsed out before we put any newly dyed items in those.