To those of my readers who are not on the Quiltart list or a reader of Quilting Arts magazine, you may be saying, "What on earth is snow dyeing?" Someone (not me) came up with the idea of using snow as a resist when fabric dyeing. Some people had fabulous results, so I just had to give it a try.
This is what I did. First I soaked my white PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric in a solution of 9 T soda ash to 1 gallon warm water.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2wCeyztLVu7mdGzNAix7sYUTXf8uPBDnnRHeSC8Ne4cjbRwHn8hh7penr18iy9DWo3DzIRNiBJ5IjPOYxW2ZHEmhPn-SHF-OYXW7AUrSa-y2mUjxpeonsVJrNkCLc6KaC9ATlPZz3ojN/s400/wet-fabri-rtatejpg)
Then I wrung out five pieces, each 1/2 yard, scrunched across the short end of a Rubber Maid wash basin and let them cool. I did two wash basins for a total of 5 yards of fabric. Not pictured here, but then I packed each basin almost to the top with snow.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIKZLomBkVy7iCTIpm8IpxdT_m2HU0VeOhv1_TzeE3JgDrH0aU1dwcMNROw45VfqwQb-o5l-RsxwPKXGwlEVMJ08gHwEtY1L-bOW9ROpu1RmlnpiHzmJGuEK7CWt1cN8ZJBm-x1M4qjwB/s400/Blue-snow.jpg)
On this one I drizzled Procion MX dyes (about 2T to 3/4 c water) over the snow. Top to bottom: Turquoise, Strong Orange, Chocolate Brown. I did this at about 10 AM and when I went to bed at 11 PM, I still had a coating of snow that had not melted. Maybe I used too much snow.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJaKWeGa1ZSbshPMHC4SEeVJ4UnQ1iNZFc8c4_yogZw6oHP1F6_OQo6zRnXtb6vIQdQNx0VqQ98GuInOIXts64cxKaQse0nCtvfPr3rMzktAsy9G9aJOGvbPpgY58MIElR3eGCn1A89yd/s400/turq-melted.jpg)
This is what it looked like in the morning. Click to see a bigger picture and all the turquoise bits on top. I don't know why this happened.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxETfWoywvxXQQCZ2uBwW0OrfeRnxcZCYXd4sWCu2T4dtDDo9oMgvdhgpi30eSL0jiDB54kWabSC8heTh9LHsBly_Cc3yf-jELbcplqKsqryaD-HWniVUaRbAdGDfIkqT9WmHF8iwvkfPV/s400/bluered-snow.jpg)
In the other basin I used some mixed dyes that had been in the refrigerator since April. I used them full strength since I didn't know how much oomph they would have left. Top to bottom: Bright Blue, Mixing Red, Sun Yellow.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoX__njhWxdvGtZptY6JwPTxViko6_CtyFRKW-luT4rtAOFUrnCa4flZ8bnT6m-s3qQ5tZQuCuKtzCwAgkCYZiXHbNPUeXKqoD7i-PrjR27TducJr_DaOfjkYnHnLHqMzkeVAy9972u9kd/s400/blue-melted.jpg)
Here they are melted in the morning. Please come back tomorrow to see the results.