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Kelly Sep 17, 2007

That's a great way to do it Diane!  I try to make sure as a rule the "dirt" is random like the before pic.  My bear above was more uniform in the after pic because I wanted it to be specifically black and orange since it was a Halloween piece.  I also go ahead and embroider the nose with the spaces (they aren't evenly spaced tho, they are random as well) simply because I am always concerned with breaking threads.  I never want to compromise the integrity of the mohair or the nose floss.  That's just my thing, I can't put holes in things...a girl has to draw the line somewhere! :crackup:

elle Sep 17, 2007

Thanks Diane and Kelly, 

Diane, I had this quite vivid picture of you in my mind with a determined look on your face, mashing into a poor teddy with your iron!  :crackup: (reminded me of Raggedy Ann when she accidentally got washed and put through a ringer)

I boiled some blue mohair a little while ago with some white mohair.  I didn't know the blue would bleed, and they both came out a dungy grey     Here's a photo.  The grey swatch on the left is the blue.

Do you take any precautions to prevent bleeding when you boil your mohair, or have you not had a problem with it?

nettie Sep 19, 2007

HI Ellen,
When I dye or boil etc I do it one bear at a time.I tend to only think about that one bear from start to finish.I only dye enough fabric for one and work on it from there.You could dye that grey over again or reboil it and the colour would fade.I use a big old pan on the stove,I probably look like an old hag !!!

Kelly Sep 20, 2007

Ellen, part of the fun of boiling mohair is to see what color it turns!  Certain browns take on a nice greenish appearance.  But like Diane I never boil more than one piece at a time.  The good news is accidents often lead to better creativity!  Light grey is a fabulous base color to start from...you can pretty much take that color anywhere.  Imagine it with an indigo overdye....or maybe a plum, possibly a sage green.....the sky is the limit!  Oh hey...how about sky blue pink! :crackup:

Just remember to resize them since boiling washed it all out!  Have fun, I can't wait to see what you make of it.

Edit: Don't forget you can bleach it too, just do it very fast and diluted with salt and vinegar in the water as well.

elle Sep 25, 2007

Thanks for your help, Diane and Kelly 

The two little pieces in the photo were for the same critter.  I put them into boil together, not thinking the blue would bleed.  )

That's a great idea to overdye the pieces!  I'm going to try it!  (I bet there are lots of "dyeing hags" [myself included] on TT)  :crackup:   No way you could ever look like an old hag, Diane.