Ice Dying: The Art of Trial & Error

One of my recent passion projects has been to master ice dying. I love that unpredictable water color / ink running look on textiles, and I had dreams of incorporating something like that into my background fabric for future fiber art projects. Plus, I wanted some cool new colorful clothes for summer!

With my schedule wide open due to COVID-19 cancellations, I read up on ice dying, collected materials, and gave it a go. My fist batch was a huge disappointment, but I learned a few things and kept at it. Here’s my DIY tutorial on ice dying (including all of my lessons learned along the way). This is such a fun summer project - use these hot days to your advantage!

The beauty of ice dying is you have almost no control over the outcome. Sure, you can choose your colors and garments, you can sprinkle the dye or dump concentrated sections of dye, but other that that, the ice is going to decide your pattern. Try scrunching up your fabric, try laying it flat, try dying a second time overtop of your first round, if you’re not completely happy with the results. Just have fun!

Check out the 60 second process video at the end of this post so you can see the magic for your self.

SUPPLY LIST

DYE: You’ll need a high quality powder dye. I tried a few dye products and had the best results with Jacquard Procion MX Fiber Reactive Cold Water Dye which can be purchased on Amazon or Dick Blick. There’s a huge range of colors, and the dye yields wonderfully vibrant colors on the fabric.

LESSON LEARNED: I know it’s tempting to use Rit dye. I know this because that’s what I did, and why my first three batches didn’t work out. Rit dye is easy to find, its inexpensive, they have enough colors to get you started, they even have an ice dying DIY article on their website, but I had zero success with it. Even after adding a Rit dye color fixer product, the color always appeared washed out.

SODA ASH: This can be purchased at fabric stores or online. You’ll mix water with the soda ash to make a soaking solution for your fabric before you dye it.

LESSON LEARNED: Be sure to soak at least 20 minutes.

MASK & GLOVES: we’re in a pandemic so you probably have these already! Wear both when mixing your soda ash, and when sprinkling the dye powder. Both products get airborne very easily and you do not want to be breathing that. Also wear the gloves when coming into contact with the soda ash soak even once the powder has dissolved (it’s caustic). I would recommend wearing the gloves when handling the wet dyed fabric as well so you don’t stain your hands.

SYNTHROPOL: This speciality laundry detergent is great for hand dyed fabrics. You can use it for a pre-wash if needed, and to wash out any excess dye at the end.

ICE: Depending on how many items you’re dying at once, you’ll need at least a 10 pound bag of ice.

LESSON LEARNED: Just go ahead and buy the $2.79 pound bag of ice from the store. The ice maker in your fridge probably can’t keep up with this project.

DYE AREA THAT DRAINS: Use a tub or tray (that’s deep enough to catch an inch or two of water) with a rack overtop. I used large storage bins and some wire shelving that I already had on hand from a closet up-fit. You could also use a a cookie cooling rack, a window screen, a dish drain…get creative and don’t feel like you have to spend a lot here!

FABRIC: I found white or light colored clothing at Goodwill that had a high cotton content. I also purchased some blank white items from the craft store (bandanas, t-shirts, zipper pouches, etc.)

10 Step DIY:

1. Pre-wash the fabric with Synthropol and allow to dry.

2. Mix soda ash and water, and soak fabric for at least 20 minutes.

3. Wring excess soda ash water, and place fabric on your racks.

4. Place generous amounts of ice over clothing.

5. Sprinkle powder dye over ice. If you want intense color sections, use more dye in one area. If you want a light wash, sprinkle dye lightly over ice.

6. Allow ice to melt.

7. Once ice is melted, squeeze fabric to remove excess dye.

8. Rinse fabric under cold tap water to remove excess dye.

9. Wash with Synthropol and allow to dry.

10. Iron if needed.

Flat Out Under Pressure Competition

Every year in June the Metropolitan Arts Council hosts the Flat Out Under Pressure competition for local artists. It’s a fun thing the community looks forward to every year. We bring our surfaces to get stamped the morning of the competition, then have 24 hours to complete the work. This year, due to the COVID19 pandemic, the whole thing is virtual. Instead of getting our surfaces officially stamped at the MAC office, we signed and dated the blank piece before starting.

The last 2 years I have summited a needle felted wool landscape, but this year I changed things up just a bit. Since MAC is the whole reason I learned rug hooking last year (thanks to a continuing education grant) I thought it would be cool to show them what I have been doing with my new skills!

This year’s piece includes needle felting, rug hooking, and punch needle techniques. I used over 40 materials and colors, and 8 different tools for the 3 fiber art mediums. It’s SO much fun to combine materials like this! Here’s a look at my progress from yesterday - I took photos every few hours to show how the piece was coming along. It was really slow going at first. I only covered a few inches of my surface in the first few hours, but I kept at it and 12 hours later, I was happy with my finished piece. I did take a few breaks during the day so I think all in all I spent about 10 hours on the 16x16 piece.

The Flat Out Under Pressure exhibition will be virtual this year, and will begin on July 1. The winner of the competition will be announced Monday by noon, and of course all the runner’s up as well (which is also a pretty big deal!). There are quite a few other “winners” and they’ll get a cash prize plus the honor of having their work prominently displayed on one of Greenville’s recycling bins downtown.

My finished piece, plus 2 other test pieces I did prior to try out ideas and see how large I could go for the 24 hour competition, will all be available for purchase soon. I’m so glad I found out I couldn’t finish a 20x20 in the amount of time aloted BEFORE it was the actual competition. That would have been a pretty frustrating thing to learn when it mattered most.

My wrists are sore, but I’m so happy I was able to participate in FOUP2020 this year, even though there will be no big party to announce the winners as before. Even still, this has been a bright spot in my week!

The Studio Graffiti Collection

I’ve been making a mess in my studio and it’s all for a good cause. The new “Studio Graffiti Collection” is a colorful combination of many materials, techniques and styles I’ve been working in for years, but never quite like this. The modern jewelry collection features hand painted acrylic which is laser cut into bold shapes, and no two pair of earrings or pendants will ever be identical due to the nature of the brushstrokes.

While developing this idea in the last few weeks, I’ve tested out several color palettes and landed on a few favorites to launch the collection. Some of these color combos may come back later if they sell well, and I certainly have ton of new ideas for upcoming colorways, but for now, here’s Night Garden, Carnival, Pool Party, and Urban Sky - all available on the website!

To shortcut your shopping on the website, you can type in “Studio Graffiti” into the search bar to see ALL items in this collection, and you can even search by colorway name if you see a color you like and only want to view jewelry pieces that come in that colorway.

Here’s a peek at my process. Watching painting done as a time-lapse video is kinda magical and you can really see how the pattern builds up on the clear acrylic from the backside. I never quite know what the painting is going to look like until I peel off the protective layer of film and man, that’s a happy moment every time! Enjoy this quick look at how this collection is created. The colorway shown in the video is “Night Garden” and is available on my website.

Ready to do a little shopping! Here’s a 25% off coupon code which is valid on any jewelry item now through the end of June!

Coupon Code: STUDIOGRAFFITI25

Coupon valid on any jewelry item(s) only at www.onceagainsam.com

Coupon not valid on Etsy, fiber art items, or commissions.

Virtual Workshops

This has been months in the making, and I’m excited to finally share my first virtual workshops with you! I don’t know if or when I’ll be teaching again in-person this year due to the COVID-19 epidemic, so it was finally time to take my workshops to the virtual realm. Check out the new DIY section on my website!

I have always had students who live in other states and countries who were never able to participate in my classes, and I’ve also had local students who just can’t make the in-person workshops work with their schedules, so I hope this new option will be a good thing for everyone.

The first two virtual workshops I’m offering are my 2 most popular classes - Needle Felted Succulents and 2D Hoop Art. Both of these classes are beginner level so no prior experience is required, but you’ll work up to a more advanced project by the time you go through the lessons. I’ll also show you everything you need to know about tools, materials, and techniques, plus I’ll share some tips and trips I learned the hard way when I first started needle felting in 2009.

Enroll in cactus workshop

Purchase cactus kit

Enroll in hoop art workshop

Purchase hoop art kit

If you prefer to purchase your own supplies, or you already have some, that’s totally fine! I’ll let you know what you need for each class. However, if you need to purchase materials, I have kits available on my website that have exactly what you’ll need to follow along with the workshop. Enroll in the workshops and shop supplies in the new DIY section on my website.

What other classes would you like to see me offering in the future? Leave your ideas in the comments below or send a message through the contact form. I would love to hear from you!

My Favorite Needle Felting Resources

Here it is, you hit the jackpot! This is a comprehensive list of my favorite needle felting supply resources that has been in the making since I started felting in 2009. I will update this list regularly so check back in the future in case I’ve come across any new stores, websites, or fiber festivals.

And of course if you know of some awesome needle felting resources and want to share, please do so in the comments below!

Online suppliers:

I have been shopping at these first two websites since 2009 and get about 50% of my total yearly supplies from those two companies. They have consistent colors (and a huge assortment). They also carry needles, foam pads, and wool fabric. Kits are available as well. If you shop at the Felted Ewe, tell Tina that Once Again Sam sent you!

https://www.thefeltedewe.com/
https://www.weircrafts.com/
https://dorrmillstore.com/

https://bearcreekfelting.com/

Local Craft Stores:

Your local craft store may carry some needle felting supplies, but I find they're somewhat limited. They will most likely carry small 0.5 oz. bags of roving, which is fine for smaller projects. It’s a little more expensive to purchase this way, but if you’re just starting out and want to try out a few colors before you load up your craft room with pounds and pounds of roving, this is a perfectly fine way to go.

Craft stores often have combo packs of different roving colors and usually an assorted pack of needles as well. If you like to work from kits, they’re bound to have some of those too!

Micheals

Hobby Lobby

Joann Fabrics

Regional Supply Stores:

Both of these stores have roving by the ounce, which is fantastic. You just pull off the amount of the color you want, they weigh it, and you pay for that amount. I wish I could buy all of my roving this way.

Asheville, North Carolina: Earth Guild

Newport, New Hampshire: Dorr Mill

Fiber Festivals:

If you happen to be in a state that has a wool festival, go check it out in person! It's well worth the drive. You can buy everything you'd ever dream of having for your needle felting journey, including a pet sheep if you’re so inclined (and I am, believe me…it’s just convincing my husband that we can have a sheep here in the suburbs).

Most of these festivals also have classes and demos available. I can’t say enough about them - they’re incredible! This is a quick video tour from my last time visiting the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF).

These are a few fiber fairs I have personally attended and highly recommend. 

North Carolina: SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair): https://saffsite.org/

North Carolina: Carolina Fiber Fest http://www.carolinafiberfest.org/

Maryland: The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival ​​​​​​​https://sheepandwool.org/

Here’s a peek at some needle felting terminology, just so you know what you’re looking for (or googling). I wish I had know these terms when I first started out needle felting in 2009. I would have saved myself a lot of trouble!

Terminology:

Roving: wool fiber which has been cleaned, combed, and dyed. It’s used for the top layer in needle felting. Roving usually comes in a long “rope” that’s rolled into a ball. 

Batt or Core fiber: wool fiber that has been cleaned and can be dyed (though it can also be natural since it’s going to be covered up with roving). It’s used for building up a 3D shape and is typically fluffier than roving, so it’s great for adding bulk.  

Raw Fleece or “Locks”: unprocessed fiber that has maximum texture and curl. 

Photo by Eli Warren

Types of Fiber:

You can felt with fiber from sheep, alpacas, and even rabbit fur & dog hair. My favorite fiber for needle felting is coarse sheep’s wool, specifically from Corriedale and Blue Faced Leicester breeds. 

Tools: 

Needles: felting needles are specialized because they have tiny inverted barbs which agitate and pull the fiber tight with each poke. I usually stick with a 38 gauge needles. If you want a fine finishing needle, a 42 gauge is a good option, but these break very easily. Needles can come in a spiral, triangle, or star shape. I highly recommend using a spiral shape - the barbs are oriented in a twist around the needle shaft, and it helps grab more fiber every time you poke the needle into your workpiece. It’s a tiny short cut, but I love it!

Needle Holders: You don’t technically have to have one, but they can be useful and make felting more comfortable. I use my single needle holder daily, my 4 needle holder regularly, and I have holders for 6, 12, and 24 needles as well, but don’t use them as often unless I’m working on something huge. 

Feting pad: a dense foam worksurface you keep on your lap or table top while you felt. I recommend a felting pad that’s 2” thick. They come in many sizes - i have some that are 4x4, some that are 24x26, but I use my 8x10 the most. I also have a “felting pillow” I like from Bear Creak Felting & Design.

I teach many workshops a year (and virtual courses too!) so if I can help you in your needle felting journey, please reach out. I love this medium and I hope you do too! Be sure to checkout some of my process videos on YouTube so you can see how this magical medium works.