Low water immersion (LWI) is a process that is a little different from the tiedye and the vat dye processes we also use.
I’ve never seen anyone else with quite my process, which I swear I got from Dharma’s catalog, but it’s not there now and hasn’t been for years. By the way – I usually break this down and only mix up a third of the recipe per color. I get phenomenal colors and wonderful patterns. I’ve been doing this since 1998 and have been reluctant to try anything else.
3 gallons of hot tap water
3 cups non-iodized salt
1/3 cup soda ash
9 T Urea
1 squirt calsolene oil
Dye according to label directions (in Tablespoons single, double or quad)
Shake well, and pour over wet, pre-washed fabric, let sit 24 hours without disturbing. Then rinse the fabric cold to hot water till the water runs clear then wash with Synthrapol and dry.
I stuff wet fabric into buckets of all shapes and sizes to get interesting effects. I can get 2 yards of Nature’s Way by Roclon into a plastic ice cream bucket (1 gallon container?)
What do you think of the process? I’d love comments.
January 17th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
I saw your response on he dyer’s list regarding salt and LWI and followed the link to your blog. I like your LWI pieces and will try the recipe you got from Dharma. I’m not familiar with calsolene oil. Where do you get it?
And I absolutely love the art work at the top of each page of your website–is it fabric? Did you dye it? How, if you care to share?
Thanks,
Anna Mae
January 17th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Thanks for the comment – Calsolene is available through Dharma Trading and I’ve always used it.
As far as the artwork is concerned, sadly, no, it isn’t one of mine. I sure wish it were. It came with the theme I use here on WordPress.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
[...] have any dye liquid left over after another project (about a cup or so, mixed up according to the LWI recipe I’ve already [...]