TWIST: dip dyed silk warp for cardweaving

I recently exhibited silk cardwoven bands in Israel, England, and at Convergence. These bands has colors that modulate through the band, contrasting with the distinct woven pattern that progresses at its own rate. To achieve this gradual shifting of colors, I dip dye two separate warp chains in two distinctly opposing sets of colors in the manner described below.

The bands in question are woven of fine silk cord from Italy, which unfortunately I can no longer find in California. Any firmly spun and plied silk should do. Measure out the warp, for example: 80 threads for a 20-card band and separate into two groups. Tie a choke knot at each end of each group to keep the threads from slipping. Set up three small Jacquard acid dyebaths at a time. Put about a half teaspoon of dye and a quarter teaspoon of acidic acid or two teaspoons of white vinegar into the simmering dyebath before dipping. One warp is dyed in warm colors, usually red, magenta and orange and the other in cool colors of blue, green and purple. I use a dip dyeing method looping the yarns over my fingers and shifting the loops as I move from one small hot dye bath to the next. On a 3 or 4 yard long warp, I dip 6 to 8 loops of about 4 or 5 inches in to each color dye. Work with gloves and hold the yarn in the dyebath long enough to exhaust the color. Then shift the loops in your hand and proceed to the next color. It is not important that the color areas repeat in a regular manner. Work on dry yarn so the color bleeds up from each area as it is dipped. I leave areas of about three inches undyed between colors, and the subsequent bleeding of color provides areas of lighter shades between areas of saturated color. I do not pay too much attention to the exact length of each color area, as my aim is a softly variegated modulation of color. Rinse the yarns gently in synthrapol; hang to dry pulling occasionally to straighten out the yarns. Repeat the process with the other set of colors on the other half of the warp threads.

Warp up the cards using both colored warps. Be careful to place two same colored yarns next to each other. Use the warm colored yarns in holes A and B for example and the cool colors in C and D on the first card. Then warm in B and C and cool in D and A in the second card, and so on. The woven pattern presents diagonal lines made up of two warp threads of the same color. What happens next is the magic part. I weave the band in random broad diagonal patterns as seen in Candace Crockett's book "Cardweaving". Sometimes the warm colors are predominant and sometimes the cool ones. As the band weaves up, I am constantly surprised by what happens when the colors come together.

On cotton or linen, it is better to paint the threads using Fiber Reactive dyes such as Procion in the soda soak method. This is a more spontaneous approach than dip dyeing each individual color would be with Procion, however it is more difficult to get saturated color when painting. Be sure to paint the whole thread, not just the top, or white areas may show when the threads twist in weaving. Soak the cut warp yarns in a solution of 2 tablespoons of soda ash and 1 quart of water for 10 minutes. Stretch out the two warps on two long pieces of plastic wrap. Paste and mix up the three colors of Procion dye in three separate cups of water mixed with Tablespoon of urea. Add a bit of sodium alginate thickener if you like. Paint the dyes on the warps with sponge brushes alternating colors as above. It is fine to work on threads that are still damp with the soda solution. You will have to experiment with the amount of bleeding you get. Wrap up the threads well in the plastic wrap and store in a warm place for 8 to 24 hours to set the dye. The threads should stay wet in the plastic wrap. Rinse well and dry with occasional tension as above.

This article was published in TWIST magazine, Tips and Tricks column, Summer 2003, Volume X, Issue 2, page 10. Reprinted with permission.