One of the early pioneers in fabric dyeing was Debra Millard - now Debra Millard Lunn. I bought her self-published book A Quilter's Guide to Fabric Dyeing in 1985. I have never seen another copy. Anyone out there have one?
I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to put this book together, as it contains actual fabrics, each one carefully positioned. Shown below are just a few examples. All photos are clickable.
The Color Wheel
Value Scale
Value Scale - Tints and ShadesDebra's book served me well as I learned how to dye my own cloth. I finally was able to study with Debra and her partner Michael Mrowka in 1994 at the Quilt Surface Design Symposium - back when it was held at the Josephinum in Columbus. It was after this class that I set out to find a wringer washing machine, regretting that we'd sold the two my parents once had. The techniques and equipment for fabric dyeing were much more labor-intensive back in the day! I still have a few of the five-gallon buckets gathered from the grocery store deli department.
I did finally find a wringer washer as well as a mangle locally. Of course this was just about the time low water immersion (LWI) dyeing was introduced!
I intended to properly press and cut my swatches - really I did.
I dyed these colors during my 'pink, blue, purple and mint green period.' I still use purple and blue. Pink and mint green? Not so much.
