Inkodye … how freakin awesome!

Do you know about Inkodye? It’s a fabric dye that develops in sunlight, and you can create some amazing prints by placing objects on the fabric to block the sun and therefore the colour. I’ve been lusting after some for a long time and recently got my hands on a starter kit.

My pack included red, blue and orange dye, instructions and a negative and frame to experiment with.

For my first experimental print, I taped a piece of calico to an old canvas, then divided it into three sections with some painters tape. After a quick search around the house I found a selection of objects to use. It’s important that they sit flat onto the fabric or light may creep in under the edges. I chose rubber bands, bag sealer clips, the Inkodye negative and frame, decorative keys and buttons.

Next I applied a coat of the dye using a foam brush. You need to do this in a dimly lit room. I chose to use the red at full strength with a light application, the blue at full strength with a heavier application and the orange diluted approximately 50/50 with water. I don’t have any photos of this because firstly I wasn’t sure how quickly I needed to work, and secondly it would have been a photo of white fabric with tape on it … not too exciting.

After each colour was applied I placed my objects on top and carefully carried it outside. Almost instantly the colour appeared. This photo was taken no more than 30 seconds after hitting the sunlight. Instantly you can see the areas where I haven’t applied enough dye. There was a little bit of a breeze so I weighted the negative down with coins.

Five minutes on and the colour was developing well. At this point I was beside myself with excitement at how quickly this stuff works!

After 10 minutes in the sun it was time to remove all of the objects.

Then it’s rinsed and straight into a bucket of hot soapy water for a 15 minute hand-wash. You can also machine wash twice on hot.

And the results …..

The red lost a lot of colour during the washing process and ended up almost pink. This was the lightest application of dye (and lots of missed patches) and I think next time I’ll be a lot more heavy handed.

The rubber bands worked perfectly and the bag clips have a nice shadow effect happening, it’s a shame they are positioned at the point with the most missed coverage.

   

 The blue finished up a lovely colour. When I applied it I didn’t use a paper towel to blot the fabric afterwards (recommended in the instructions), and I think that would have been beneficial. You can see some areas of the keys that are pale blue rather than white. The negative image is amazing, I will definitely be making my own. The frame and keys also worked really well. I was impressed with how much of the cut out detail in the keys can be seen.

    

The orange had the most even coverage, and even though it was diluted 50%, it still seems to be as vibrant as the blue. I think the water helped with a better consistency for spreading. The buttons came out well, the holes in the centre are very crisp, the edges are a bit blurred, which I don’t mind at all. The butttons themselves have a rounded edge both sides so weren’t sitting completely flat one the fabric.

 Obviously I need to work on getting even coverage, but overall I think I’m just a little bit in love with this product. I already have lots of ideas and possibilities swirling around in my head. No doubt you will see more of this stuff in future blog posts.

I ordered my Starter Kit from the Lumi website.