Needle
In A Haystack
Hand Dyed Fabrics
Primer
The following articles were
featured in 3 newsletters I wrote
in 2011. We have collected them
all into one for your reading
pleasure and made some updates. If
you wish to reprint any part of
this, please contact the shop for
permission.
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Since we carry so many
hand-dyed linens I get
questions about them quite
often. The most asked question
is why dye lots change so
much. Even with commercially
produced colors like those in
the standard Wichelt and
Zweigart lines, you'll get
variation over time. For those
fabrics, the color is part of
the base threads that make up
the fabric vs. being "applied"
once its loomed. When they're
producing several hundred
yards of fabric it can be a
long time before you see a
different dyelot. A good
example is Zweigart's
Platinum. If you have a piece
more than about 5 years old
the color is a silver/grey.
Now days it's more of a
green/grey.
There are a huge number of
variables that a dyer has to
consider and one reason why
I'm personally quite willing
to pay for someone else to do
it :-). First there's the dyes
- even they change over time
and with different
manufacturers. The size of the
dye molecules is different
between colors and that
affects how quickly a color
component is absorbed into the
fabric as well as how quickly
you have to use the dye once
it's been mixed. The type of
water can affect them
especially if it's an area
where there are a lot of
minerals in the water. Ambient
temperature can affect the
dyes as well, so you can get a
completely different result on
a day where it's 40 degrees
than on a day where it's 95
degrees. It's one of the
reasons the companies doing
this, work hard to keep their
dyeing environments at a
constant temperature and
humidity. How well the dyes
are mixed is yet another
factor.
The base fabric, whether
it's linen, cotton or some
mix of cotton/rayon is the
next biggest factor to the
dyes themselves. When
Zweigart still had a
mill in Switzerland as well
as Germany the fabric dyers
I've talked to over the
years said they could tell
what fabric came out of each
mill. Not only are there
equipment differences but
personnel and the base
fabric threads differed.
Even with only one Zweigart
mill in Germany now you can
take a piece of Zweigart 28,
32, 36 and 40 count, put
them in the same dyes and
they won't be the same color
when you're done. For
Zweigart, 28 and 32 count
are usually woven from the
same base fabric threads so
they tend to be the most
similar when dyed, but not
always. 36 and 40 count are
each from a different base
fabric thread, not only from
each other but from the 28
& 32 count fabrics.
You've got different
diameters of the base fabric
threads, you have different
crops, perhaps a different
machine was used to make up
the fabric threads, then
you've got different
looms...you get the picture.
Flax in particular,
changes color based on how
much water it gets during
the growing cycle. If you
ever look at un-dyed linen
you'll see changes in it
over time based on growing
conditions. It can be much
lighter one year and much
darker another year. How
well it takes the dye
affects what the end result
looks like. I was discussing
this with Pat at Lakeside
Linens and she had a
piece off a roll where the
mill had obviously changed
the base fabric threads in
the loom - this isn't
obvious until you dye it.
One half of it looks like a
different color from the
other. Same fabric, same
dye, same water, same
everything - but the base
flax threads changed the
equation with some startling
results.
Sizing also plays
another role in this - it
has to be removed. Most
fabric comes sized so dyers
have to rinse it to remove
the chemicals before they
can dye. How well that's
done or if there are
problems with the sizing can
impact the color and how
well the dye is absorbed. No
two manufacturers use the
same sizing or in the same
amounts so the dyers have to
determine what process works
best to remove it and have
the dye take effectively.
Even the most
technical dyer will never
be able to replicate a
color exactly with all
these variables in the
mix. With the exception of
the fabric manufacturers
(the ones with the mills),
those who hand-dye fabrics
are small businesses with
small staffs - sometimes
only 1 or 2 people. Like
artisinal food products
they're made in small
batches. So it's as much
about art as it is about
science. And it's about
juggling all these
variables to find a
reasonable mid-ground to
create a product we'll
want to stitch with. If
you want to read more
about the technical side
of hand-dyeing check our Paula
Burch's All About Hand
Dyeing website -
she's got great
information.
Lakeside Linens
dyes primarily on Zweigart
fabrics. The
exceptions are as follows:
- 40 count - older
dyelots were Italian
linen which was dyed
on Graziano,
however Graziano no
longer makes Ricamo.
So 40 count colors
after 2012/2013 are Zweigart.
- 45 count - these are
an Italian linen which
is dyed on Graziano
Florence. This
fabric takes the color
very differently from
the Zweigart fabrics.
- 50 count & 52/60
count - these counts
are a Legacy Linen
base. (Access
Commodities)
- We have had Lakeside
Linens dye
Brussels linen (no
longer manufactured)
as well as the new Zweigart
Bergen (44
count) linen for us.
Linens By
Design (aka
Birds of a Feather) and
Picture This
Plus use
Zweigart for their
fabrics. Wichelt,
who have fabric made for
them has both their
linen, Jobelan and
Jobelan Aida hand-dyed.
Weeks Dye Works
uses Northern Cross (30
& 35 count),
Zweigart (28 & 32
count) and for their 40
count they used Graziano
for a couple of years,
switching to a French
linen. R &
R uses both
Zweigart and Northern
Cross. Silkweaver,
which is owned by
Needleworker's Delight
(aka Zweigart US) uses
primarily Zweigart.
In most cases the
hand-dyed fabric company
will tell you what base
fabric they dye on, but
not always. If it
matters to you, ask your
local shop if they know
what the base is or send
a note to the fabric
dyer if you are
purchasing directly
(many hand-dyed fabric
companies do not sell to
shops and sell only
direct to the stitcher).
The bottom line -
dyeing is a labor
intensive job with more
variables in play than
most of us would ever want
to wrap our heads around.
If you find a dyelot of a
fabric you've fallen in
love with, buy it. The
chances of you seeing that
exact dyelot again are
slim. You're creating your
own art work so don't
stress out about it not
looking exactly like the
designer's photo or like
someone else's. Hand-dyed
fabrics offer a wonderful
way to make your piece
unique - just like
snowflakes, no two are
alike :-).
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After the previous section
about hand-dyed fabrics I
thought I'd write a bit about
the second most asked question -
can I wash it? Unfortunately
there are no simple answers
since it really depends on the
type of fabric or thread, what
it was dyed with and what those
dyes were set with. A good
number of hand-dyed fabrics as
well as most commercially dyed
fabrics can be hand-washed, but
that's not the case for all of
them. And washing fabric in a
machine is a whole other
concern. Washing threads is
always something you want to
test first if you're not sure
especially since many will say
they should be dry-cleaned but
not necessarily washed.
Fabrics like Zweigart's
afghans
are made of poly-acrylic and can
withstand some regular machine
washing if you put it in a bag.
For any fabric you can machine
wash the concern isn't so much
about the fabric but about the
threads and how abrasive a
washing machine can be to them.
Stick with threads like DMC
Perle cotton or DMC cotton floss
and know you might need to
pre-rinse the thread to get the
excess dye out.
There are three main things
to consider.
- 1) Will the color
bleed/run?
- 2) Will the color fade or
change color?
- 3) Will the color fade over
time, whether I wash it or
not?
1) Will the color bleed/run?
Even dyes that are set
permanently can bleed or run.
This is caused by the excess dye
molecules needing to find a new
home. They didn't bind to the
thread or fabric and when washed
they un-attach. Darker colors
tend to do this the most. I made
a Hardanger doily years ago that
I stitched on white linen with Watercolors
Black Cherry. I had to
rinse the piece for almost 30
minutes to get the excess dye to
disappear (fortunately this was
not during a drought year in
CA). I've had it happen with
fabrics as well. I'm sure you've
all known someone who's thrown a
red t-shirt in with the whites
and gotten pink underwear so
you'll understand about the free
floating dye molecules. Granted
there are things on the market
now to prevent that but I don't
know how well they work with
needlework so don't assume they
will work for you without
experimentation (on something
that you don't care about).
2) Will the color fade or
change color? If the dyes were
set permanently you might get
some bleeding when it's washed
but it shouldn't change color.
The ability to be washed or
cleaned and not change color
means it's colorfast. Some
threads and fabrics are not set
permanently so can't get wet at
all. Most these days are
colorfast so can be rinsed and
not change color. Be sure to
check the label or ask at your
LNS if you are not sure.
If a fabric or thread does
not indicate that it is
colorfast, rinsing it could
potentially change its color,
either by a small amount or
significantly. If you're not
sure, take a small piece and wet
it then dry it between two
sheets of a white paper towel.
If it's going to bleed you'll
see color on the paper towel. If
it's going to change color or
become lighter, you should see
it - be sure to compare it to
the original.
3) Will the color fade over
time? This not only depends on
the dyes and how they were set
but the lighting conditions.
Even colorfast items can fade
over time if the lighting
conditions promote that. UV rays
are hard on colors. UV occurs
naturally as part of sunlight
but you get some UV exposure
with lighting - how much depends
on the type of bulb. We have
seen the effect of light fade
from having things by the
windows in our previous
locations as well as the halogen
lights we had in our first
location. In a home environment
this isn't as much of an issue
but in a retail space where the
lights are on for 8-12 hours a
day this is a serious concern.
We use non-UV lights in the shop
for that reason - along with
them being color-corrected so
you get good color rendition.
But even then we still can see
some light fade on certain
projects over a long period of
time.
Color can fade with time if
the dyes were not properly set.
Most of the dyes start out as
powder and if not properly set
and rinsed will return to that
form. Some dye colors are
notorious for being "difficult"
and many dyers avoid them. I can
tell you we've got items with
fade lines in them and they
aren't all hand-dyed fabrics or
threads. We've seen it in
particular with very bright
blue/greens, which might mean
the dye incorporated is one of
the turquoise dyes that's hard
to deal with. If the dyes aren't
completely set it returns to
powder form and settles out of
the fabric from gravity. Or you
see color changes from light
fade. We have a couple of models
where we've seen significant
fading due to the fabric not
being colorfast or light-fast.
One was a bright purple and now
looks grey after hanging on the
wall for more than 13 years.
If you're storing fabrics
for an extended period put them
someplace where they're not
going to get a lot of direct
light of any kind. Ideally wrap
them up in acid free tissue and
roll them vs. fold them. It's
especially important to roll
them without fold lines if you
know the fabric isn't colorfast.
I store mine on a wrapping paper
roll I've wrapped with acid-free
tissue paper first. I put
several layers of fabric on the
roll then wrap the outside with
another layer of acid-free
tissue and tie it with some
ribbon.
Hand-dyed fabrics I know you
can hand-wash are Lakeside
Linens, Linens
By Design, Picture
This Plus, Silkweaver
and Weeks Dye Works
although they all recommend
rinsing the fabric before
stitching to remove any excess
dye especially on darker colors.
Wichelt and R&R
hand-dyed fabrics are not
colorfast and they do not
recommend washing them, only
dry-cleaning.
For threads the various
thread vendors usually put care
instructions on their threads as
to wash-ability or on their
websites. Generally if washable,
you want to do it in cold water
and use very little agitation.
While many silk threads can be
hand-washed they are not good
candidates for a project that's
going into a washing machine.
Use a commercially dyed cotton
or wool for those projects.
If you do wash your project
for the first time don't let it
dry when you're not there to see
the final stage. I personally
recommend you iron it dry into a
terry cloth towel (your project
is wrong side up) on the
appropriate setting and keep a
close watch on it. If the
threads are going to bleed it
will happen when the fabric is
almost completely dry but the
threads aren't. Essentially the
fabric wicks the moisture out of
the threads and the excess dye
will come with it. If you see
that happen, put down the iron
and walk back to the sink.
Rinse, rinse, rinse is all you
can do. On the Hardanger piece I
mentioned earlier I ended up
ironing it almost dry twice and
rinsing it 3 times before all
the excess dye was gone. Took
more than 30 minutes all
together - but it was a deep
red/purple on white fabric so I
wasn't surprised. You can also
pre-rinse your fabric and
threads if you know you're going
to need to launder the final
project. When I do that with
thread I take the tags off and
if it's a thread that wants to
un-wind I use a little thread or
even yarn to keep the ends from
tangling. Rinse until the water
runs clear then dry it on
something white so you can see
if any more dyes comes off.
Rinse again if that happens.
Now, what do you wash
needlework with?. My first
choice is Ivory
Snow - which can be hard
to find in many parts of the US.
A tiny bit of the flakes go a
long way and they do make a
liquid form now as well. Second
& third choices are Ivory
dish washing soap or the suds
from an Ivory bar. Why Ivory?
It's 99.44% detergent - no
additives to deal with and it's
a very gentle detergent. I tried
Woolite once many years ago and
it was not a good choice. It was
hard to rinse completely out and
over time seemed to attract dust
to my piece. I rarely use glass
so this is really important to
me if I actualy launder a piece.
You should be able to use
another kind of very mild
soap/detergent (like Orvus) but
make sure it's recommended for
fine hand-washing and there
aren't any additives. Only a
tiny bit is needed - remember,
you're not washing out the
soccer clothes :-).
If you're not sure how to
launder something or even if it
can be, ask your LNS or contact
the dyer. Most shops have a good
idea about what's washable and
what isn't based on practical
experience. Most of the time
washing is not needed but if you
think you're going to wash it
when you're done prepare the
fabric and threads before
stitching to eliminate as many
potential problems as possible.
If I'd done that with my
Hardanger piece and rinsed the
thread ahead of time I wouldn't
have run into the same problems
at the end.
Remember to pick your fabric
and thread based on what you
need to use the project for when
you're done, do any necessary
prep work and you'll be much
happier in the long run.
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Fabric
Types
& Fiber Content
I thought I'd finish up
writing about fabric for now
with some information on the
various fabric types and their
fiber content. First off some
terms:
- Aida Weave
- a block weave that looks
like little squares. Some
common fabrics are Aida,
Klostern & Tula. Huck
fabrics are a variant of this
weave with the addition of a
"float" for running the
embroidery thread under.
- Plain Weave -
in contrast to the block weave
of Aida most counted fabrics
are Plain Weave, meaning their
warp and weft threads create
the usual over/under weave
we're used to seeing in
counted fabrics.
- Evenweave -
(Plain Weave) technically any
of the fabrics where the warp
and weft threads have the same
count are Evenweaves ("even"
in both directions). So 99% of
counted fabrics that are on
the market these days are
Evenweaves. But most stitchers
and designers use this term to
mean a counted fabric where
the fabric threads are the
same diameter. Unlike linen
which has thick and thin
threads "Evenweaves" are
generally made from cotton or
a cotton blend and the base
threads have a uniform
diameter. The most common
brand names are Jobelan
(Wichelt), Floba, Jazylyn and
Lugana (Zweigart) although
several others are made (e.g.
Fabric Flair).
- Linen -
(Plain Weave) most linen
fabrics are true "even" weaves
where the warp & weft
count is the same although
there are a very limited
number of un-evenweave linens.
As of 2015 there is a new
un-evenweave on the market
from Access Commoidities,
which Lakeside Linens
hand-dyes. It's ~52/60 count
although technically, it's not
a counted fabric at all. It's
marketed as an embroidery
linen but stitchers are good
at using what's available. It
is being primarily used for
reproduction sampler work to
resemble fine antique linens.
Northern Cross and Glenshee
both made several un-evenweave
linens (e.g. 32/36, 40/50)
which are extremely difficult
to find now.
The linens produced by
Zweigart, Wichelt, Graziano,
Legacy, Northern Cross and
Fabric Flair almost
exclusively "even" weaves.
Those who hand-dye fabrics use
one of these brands as the
base fabric so they inherit
those properties.
- Linen Band &
Aida Band -
these are fabrics with a woven
edge suitable for banners,
bookmarks, wall hangings, etc.
The selvage is pre-finished in
a variety of ways (plain,
hemstitched, jacquard,
crocheted, etc.) so you only
need to deal with the top and
bottom of the banding. Most
often hung from dowels or rod
hardware.
- Canvas -
There are 3 different types of
canvas:
- Mono -
this canvas is a Plain
Weave. It's the most
common canvas available
and is used most
frequently in hand-painted
needlepoint and
counted-canvas designs.
- Interlock -
this canvas is lightweight
and instead of the
over/under Plain Weave,
two thin fabric threads
are twisted together and
when they intersect with
the perpendicular thread
they wrap around each
other - interlocking. So
unlike mono canvas where
you can move fabric
threads at their
intersection, you can't
budge Interlock. If you've
ever stitched a Stitch
'n Zip
kit, Interlock is the
canvas used in them.
- Penelope -
also called Petit Point or
Double-Mesh canvas it's
woven like Mono canvas but
with two parallel fabric
threads. So at the
intersection you have 2
sets fabric threads. A 10
count Penelope can be
stitched either as 10
count or as 20 count
(Petit Point). It's used
quite often in printed
canvases from Europe and
in pre-stitched canvases.
Mono
Canvas
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Interlock
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Penelope
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Silk
Gauze
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- Silk Gauze
- technically a form of canvas
this fabric is woven like
Interlock canvas. The silk
fabric threads are very thin
so you have fairly large
holes, making it easier to see
than the same count in linen.
- Embroidery Fabrics
- there are number used in
needlework although for some
forms of needlework any dense
fabric is usable:
- Twill -
Linen Twill
is used primarily for
Crewel Work. Its weave is
on the diagonal and it
holds up extremely well
over time because of this
diagonal weave. It's a
common fabric outside of
the needlework industry
for draperies and
clothing.
- Shadow Work
Linen, Ecclesiastical
Linen, Schwalm
Embroidery Linen,
Normandie
& Batiste are
all Plain Weave linens
used in needlework but
they are not counted
fabrics and are generally
quite dense. They vary in
weight so you want to
choose one that works with
your technique.
- Kingston (Zweigart)
-
I'm
listing this separately
since it's almost a
counted linen, but not
quite. Zweigart says it's
a 50 count but in my
personal experience it's
anywhere from 45-50 and
not necessarily a true
"even" weave. I treat it
more like an embroidery
linen than a counted
linen.
- Weaver's Cloth
- used for Punchneedle
Embroidery it's a
cotton/poly blend that has
some stretch to it, which
is important for
Punchneedle.
- Specialty Fabrics -
there are a plethora of
specialty fabrics on the
market, most of them having
some kind of pattern woven
into them. Afghan fabrics are
generally a plainweave fabric
you stitch on coupled with a
woven pattern.
Aida fabrics
are generally cotton based but
occasionally you'll find one
that is either linen (Zweigart
makes a Linen Aida) or has
something like Modal/Rayon in it
(as is the case for Jobelan
Aida). Aida is most commonly
found in kits since it's easier
for many stitchers to count the
blocks. The sizing in most Aida
fabrics makes it stiff although
Jobelan Aida and Wichelt's
Country French Aida fabrics are
quite soft. Aida can be found in
counts from 6 (Herta) to 22
(Hardanger). The other fabrics
using an Aida Weave (e.g. Tula)
have different fiber contents
and are most often some kind of
blend.
Evenweaves are
usually cotton or a cotton
blend, as cotton lends itself
much better to making it a
uniform thickness for creating
the fabric. Rayon is made
from reconstituted cellulose
fiber and Modal is the brand
name of a Rayon made from Beech
trees. This is the most often
used component of evenweaves
that are a cotton blend as
Modal/Rayon dyes like cotton and
gives it a softer hand.
Evenweaves come in a variety of
counts, the most common being
20, 25, 28 and 32 (although
Fabric Flair makes a 36 count
and you can find some below 20
count from various vendors).
Linen fabrics
are generally 100% linen
although you will find some,
like Zweigart's Pearl Linen
which is a linen blend (linen
& Polyester). 100% linens
are most noted for their
thick/think fabric threads since
the base thread is spun vs.
extruded like cotton can be.
You'll find their hand to be
everything from very soft to
very stiff. Zweigart linens are
generally soft, Wichelt and
Northern Cross have more sizing
and are stiffer, with Graziano
in the middle. Wichelt's Country
French Linens are soft as they
have limited sizing in them. How
translucent (see-through) a
linen is depends on how thick
the base fabric threads are. No
two vendors make linens the
same. For example, a 28 count
Wichelt linen is fairly
transparent because the fabric
threads are thin, while
Zweigart's 28 count Cashel has
somewhat plump fabric threads.
Both are 28 count linens, but
when you compare them they look
very different. Each brand has
its unique qualities and its
devotees. Counts range from 18
to 50 with 28 and 32 being the
most commonly used.
Linen Band
and Aida Band are
generally made from 100% linen,
cotton or a blend of the two.
Linen Band ranges from 24 to 30
count with 28 the most common
(Vaupel & Heilenbeck). Aida
Band comes in variety of counts.
Both come in a variety of widths
and colors.
Canvas is
almost always 100% cotton.
Zweigart made a 100% linen
canvas once upon a time but it's
no longer in production and hard
to find. Canvas has quite a bit
of sizing in it which helps make
it stiff. Congress Cloth - the
name given to 24 count mono
canvas is stiff, while Congressa
is the same canvas without the
sizing so it's softer. Hand-dyed
canvas is soft because the dyers
have to soak the sizing out of
it so it will take the dye.
Commercially dyed canvas is
usually made from fabric threads
that were dyed before
weaving/looming so the sizing is
intact. Penelope has sizing so
is stiff. Interlock has some
sizing but because the
individual fabric threads are
thin and twisted together it's
much softer than the other
types. Less surface area means
less actual sizing. Zweigart has
cut the number of colors/counts
it produces in both Mono and
Penelope canvas. So while all
the counts are represented you
might only be able to find it in
say white vs. brown.
Silk Gauze is
made from 100% silk and ranges
in count from 18 to above 100
count, the most common being in
the 30-40 count range. Usually
it's beige, although some counts
come in black. Kreinik also
makes a version called Polysil™
which is a 100% Polyester
version and useful for clothing
embellishment.
Embroidery Fabrics
and the Specialty
Fabrics on the market
have a wide range of fiber
content. The Embroidery fabrics
we carry are generally 100%
linen, linen/cotton blend
(Normandie) or 100% cotton
(Batiste). The Specialty Fabrics
range from 100% Poly-acrylic to
100% cotton and pretty much
everything in-between.
I created a Fabric Fiber
Content list many years
ago, which I updated in 2011,
that gives you the fiber content
of most fabrics made for
needlework. I've also listed
what brands the most common
hand-dyers use. You can find it
on our Fabric page.
There are 3 versions, based on
when I created the list since
many fabrics that were on the
previous versions are long since
gone. I'm sure I've missed a few
but I think I managed to
document most of what's on the
market these days. The file is
in PDF format so you can easily
print a copy for yourself.
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I
hope you've enjoyed our
fabric adventure. When I
started doing embroidery as
a youngster back in the 60's
there was very limited
choice in what you stitched
on, much less what you
stitched with. Even when I
started doing needlepoint
(mid 70's) and counted
cross-stitch (late 70's)
there weren't many options
available in shops. Now
there's such a huge fabric
selection available that the
choices can be daunting to
stitchers. We're here to
help you make informed
choices, whether it's the
type of fabric, the count or
the color.
Hopefully this information
helps you know more about
what's on the market and why
sometimes, we ask you way
more questions about what
you want to stitch on than
you might think is needed
:-).
Happy Stitching,
Cathe |
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