Felt making is most effective using wool fibres. The best to use is wool that has been cleaned and combed. The treated wool is known as wool tops, or wool roving. Fibre with a Bradford count of 60 or higher (find out more about wool classification), will felt readily when combined with water, heat and […]
24
Aug
Aug
The Jacquard Procion MX dyes have been formulated for use on cellulose fabrics such as cotton and linen, although they also produce reasonable colours on silk and wool. These fibre reactive dyes become locked into the fabric when combined with salt and soda ash, making the dye extremely washfast. As this is the only dye […]
02
Sep
Sep
Sarah Brooker‘s skilfully crafted and vibrantly coloured felt artwork has been created using Fibrecrafts dyed Merino wool tops. One of Sarah’s early works was used on the 1996 Fibrecrafts catalogue cover. The original was bought by Ian Bowers (our Managing Director) and still hangs on his wall at Style Cottage. Other […]
06
Sep
Sep
Here we include a recipe for space dyeing yarns, fibres or fabrics. This technique is also known as low water immersion dyeing. The randomness of this microwave method is so satisfying – there’s no need to fret about precise colour measuring and each attempt will give you varying results. The recipe is for dyeing white […]
09
Sep
Sep
The Selectasine screen printing products offer an economical alternative to ready-mixed screen printing inks. They are used by schools, colleges, professional screen printers, and textile artists. The screen printing system comprises a large selection of binders. These can be mixed with the concentrated ECO pigments which include a choice of fluorescent colours. The pigment is […]
14
Sep
Sep
Natural Dyes by Dominique Cardon is the definitive book on the subject of natural dyes and their use. The hardback book includes 778 pages with 560 illustrations, covering the world wide sources and dyeing traditions, along with details of dyeing technology and the science which lies behind colouring with naturally occurring materials. The chapters cover […]
11
Oct
Oct
Planning to do a lot of Batik or Encaustic Art? A thermostatically controlled wax melting pot is an essential addition to your tool kit. This wax melting pot is mains operated through a British 3 pin plug. Temperature Control The melting capacity of the Tixor Malam Wax Pot is 300ml and the adjustable thermostat can be […]
18
Oct
Oct
When ordering a new reed, check the overall length of the reed you are replacing. This includes the end caps which add about 2.5-4cm to the total length. The reed height is normally defined by the size of the opening in the beater. Most looms are flexible in the height of the reed they can […]
21
Oct
Oct
This post is for those of you who haven’t yet discovered the magical autofade pen. It is a fibre tipped pen which can be used to trace or sketch out designs on fabric and paper. The violet coloured ink magically fades within 3-4 days or it can be removed immediately with water (see our page […]
26
Oct
Oct
You don’t need to be good at drawing to paint designs onto silk fabric. Here we show a neat trick for utilising designs found around the house including printed fabrics, wrapping paper, wall paper and even from colouring books! Look for a good bold print which will show through the silk fabric, we used the […]