![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRQETiYIkCqeX2tF2rZMLvCBHPqEunVLmyVrjtDD4PTNnUape6C58doPOjBNXNL2srZfaw8mRtfeu29QRXoVd9FKa9Ybt40MF-5VofWxMp3kKwddl7CKJ_FqgWSd_WsPa3HDzQSP9xfY/s400/dye1.jpg)
My friend Grace Howes has hosted a dye party at her house every summer for the past few years. She does a lot of dyeing, and is great at guiding newbies through the process. We work in her garage, which was pretty steamy today (we got a huge thunderstorm overnight and there was a lot of moisture in the air). She has a utility sink and three big tables she sets up where the cars usually are.
When you work with Procion dyes, you have to don a dust mask and safety goggles while you mix up the dye solution. I hate that part. But with a lot of people, you can share the task and it goes much faster.
Here’s Alisan pouring some soda ash solution on a piece of fabric:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3QrtbxsT25DXn8W31ozLYwrDb9js68EFcZ7hIV7ddZXO-9QT6U57hG8P-5psrlqv_V_lPVugV6k0nS58kXYSNAg7wk3-Q8cbYnvEqbe_fJgElHzTny2aMs4PFGQpMIxJZdTKax5PcRP4/s400/dye2.jpg)
These are Grace’s. She added some dye to one end of the fabric and put it in a bucket (on hte left side) and then put some darker dye in the other bucket (on the right) and let it seep up into the other color:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgAjJUapyWAGdmLCjurEq2zFINYt6x9XNxlf0VvYta8aLKvUSJ6Ol5CYLdoHg1nmSWhohzAdtamkJmKkD377MkFPpCakvSrENI2oky2LKXy5qQN2U03Cd2E5RZpRqVH-aP1eYApfew34/s400/dye3.jpg)
Not sure who was working on this piece, but it sure looks pretty in that blue bucket:
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Trish loved those hot, steamy rubber gloves!
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I was all about the blue-purple today. Here are my containers steeping in the sun:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvHnbF4CMPn3YUFkxqmX71rovGxGBoVbCEi5_qcdbtU92XjXQoLsaRmL6SMqzf7HG-oHPCfvE1S7Lk0a2uo8m9XUOPqkP96-bb2nvVRamMnYF_2N-uRuD1jFsUA6GW-G-CCVbHaP99S8/s400/dye6.jpg)
This is my piece of cotton/linen drying on Grace’s yard:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lxBXiBpxVDvB175GVqe5ocscwZmbtiyz9W3jPjhhx52srzow6JowhJQpF_7L4V-Pe6TtKTXEIgbaihihTW5_e721ZC_pwRTR-ytkLE6fubeWsU4qJvIwPvz1nPcz2uOzBrmoYxMMAMI/s400/dye7.jpg)
I’m very pleased with how it turned out. Here’s a closeup of that same fabric:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihW71ufVh7MJRAnDPgQKXC_CzUPzq3wFVJz4lJi1l1JTUWVfklXQjyyEZ0trSV7-_9P4RJLCha5qhJsItqZP4xKHql7aQskr7xf1gPB0Hx1lCqkHU5azsEXYcy8nOYnBQeBuuu9psa5EY/s400/dye8.jpg)
Grace is so wonderful to host this party. I had to duck out a bit early to pick up one of my kids at a day camp, and didn’t do much in the way of clean up this time. (I owe you, Grace!) Here she is man-handling a table into storage:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmbu8Xg-Kz65NmxXdNxOOM4ZLZOwuQ6z0GnTDLMo20IPEIyCFlr2CPxvJwhYmkWD38JG2zZDdwo50dYvwdTNcC2q1DEvojyqmex_1UruR1XEIIKli1oGEwmxNSmoiTUvbmH2b-_MPocA/s400/dye9.jpg)