tip: with cyanotype, the finished product will oxodize over about a month (this is a good thing! the blue will be darker and the whites more crisp) but you can get cyanotype to oxidize immediately by dunking the finished print in water with a little splash (about a capful) of hydrogen peroxide! i dont know if morgan did this in the video but if youre planning to do this yourself, it wasnt mentioned in the video so i figured id mention it
She only mentioned that the colour gets more blue after oxidation (a little after 25:00), but nothing about using hydrogen peroxide to speed up the process. Also I think she only mentioned it once.
Here's a fun story: I was a student in 1978 when these chemicals were not as well known for art making so there was some risk. I made an art piece about the size of a king size sheet. I got home and put it in the wash and.... yes you know the rest. I completely redid the piece (hours and hours of work) and I was in luck because through crazy good luck the piece and another ended up at the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute for a show on surface design.
I love all the designs. You are very creative. I am going to try this. Could u place the bottom of the dress in a black garbage bag & expose the sun to the top, then do the bottom? I haven’t done any cynotype but was thinking this might work for large pieces. Thank you for sharing 😊
The first ever book that was illustrated entirely with photographs (in fact it *consisted* entirely of photographs) was _Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions_ (1843), by Anna Atkins. There’s a lovely Objectivity video about it.
Honestly, the stripes from folding over seem to well compliment the natural patterns from the plants! It adds extra contrast and interest to the top of the skirt section before the plants start. The dress seems to have turned out best out of everything.
Yes. It can probably be manipulated like shibori for a layered print effect. Think of flowers embroidered on gingham, but in monotone. It would also take a lot longer to dry so thin fabrics in small quantities like silk scarves makes sense for experiment.
To be honest, i love the stripes where the fabric folded. It reminds me of both tie-dye, and those puff-and-slash sleeves on historical European fashion.
Red light or "Safe Light" used when developing black and white photos will also work for prepping for cyanotype coloring. To always get the same exposure use ultra violet led array. A timer will then give the same exposure every time. And old sunning lamp should work as light source.
Beautiful, and a lovely video, but I feel like there needs to be a SAFETY NOTE: when using any sort of powdered dyes (especially ones that include a form of cyanide as the main ingredient) one should DEFINITELY be wearing a respirator or dust mask. Once it’s mixed in liquid it’s much safer, but you don’t want to be breathing in any of that powder. Well done with the gloves, though. 👍🏻
@Matthew Morycinski I’m aware it’s not pure cyanide, that’s why I said “a form of cyanide”. The reason I suggest a respirator is because accidents happen, and a “choking cloud of dust” (as you put it) is not outside the realm of possibility if you drop the container in the wrong way. When using anything that is or even could be toxic it’s better to be safe than sorry, especially if you’re posting videos on the internet. 🤷🏻♀️ It’s my opinion. You’re welcome to disagree with me, but please respond to the words I’ve actually posted rather than your impression of what they are. 👍🏻
@@annawaddill4216 well said 🤗 on top of that even if the cloud is small enough you can't see it, fine dust is actually the most harmful as it gets all the way into your lungs
As a relatively new subscriber, I don't know if this channel has always been "Morgan discovers/thinks of a New Thing, proceeds to research the hecc™out of it and now here's a video", but I'm here for it
So dyeing fabric off the bolt would be too much work/mess because of the amount of fabric ... but I wonder if cutting the pattern of the dress from the fabric and dyeing the individual pattern pieces would be easier? It'd allow more control over the object arrangements and exposure. Afterward, put the pieces together as a dress as normal.
I was thinking the same thing. Dying the individual cut pattern pieces and making a dress would be so much easier (assuming that you can sew) than what Morgan had to go through.
Your comment about blueprints reminded me of my grandmother, who would collect old blueprints which, it turned out were made on linen. She cleaned the ‘blue’ off them and hand stitched handkerchiefs out of them as gifts for friends and family. She was of the ‘make do and mend’ generation, being born at the turn of the 20th century. These days she would be an eco-warrior.
They started out as regular clothes but through attrition they have become the messy clothes - I love it though, it means I can still do the messy stuff I want to do without fear since the clothes are already a bit mussed 👌
As a mother of tree kids I agree. There's nothing like wearing something that is already dirty and then having a toddler come and wipe their buggers on it and just thinking "That was gross but, oh well it's dirty anyway" 🤷♀️.
This is definitely a unique type of resistance dying. The folded parts actually give it a kind of shibori resistance dyed effect, and similar to the indigo shibori dye color too. It turned out beautifully
Cyanotype reacts with wood when drying, so try not to allow contact with wood when wet. That's what caused the dark line on the tank top. Also, the bleaching action from the oxy clean, is caused by washing soda or sodium carbonate. Ammonia, borax and chlorine bleach will also cause bleaching issues, among other chemicals. I use Woolite All Clothes on my Cyanotype clothes. If you look into cyanotype toning you can get some really great ideas for other looks for cyanotypes as well. Some toners can turn the blue almost black, but I haven't tried them on fabric, only paper (cotton based). All that said, I loved seeing you experiment with this! I too am the kind of person that wants to do all the things.
Really love the Miss Frizzle vibes I get when I watch you experiment with stuff like this. Take chances, make mistakes, get messy! Thanks for another great video, this was fun
You could also paint the outside of a glass jar with black acrylic paint. That should make a container that would protect your mixture from sun exposure.
I'm so excited to see you doing this. I've been cyanotype printing for the last couple of years, and you definitely can print using a wet process. You can get some amazing effects by adding washing up liquid bubbles squashed under the glass. There's also no need to dry and press your plant material first. Just pick stuff and lay that on top of your fabric. Pop a sheet of glass on top. You can put a second layer of plant material on top of that, and a second sheet of glass on top of that. That will add some depth to your final image
@Tamzin Phillips Wow! Wonderful suggestions! This technique is so interesting in respect to all the variety of effects that can be achieved by manipulating the medium and the process... Love your ideas!
This is weirdly serendipitous timing, I was just thinking about how I'm gonna dye the parasol I'm crocheting once it's made. Part of me likes the concept of sun-dyeing a sun-shade, it's weirdly poetic. And Jacquard Solarfast comes in a variety of colors, so I could get fancy with it...hmm...
There is also this technique called eco print where you hammer leafs or other plants into fabric until the chlorophyll stains the fabric and leaves the shape of the plant. It’s really pretty and easy, this Video reminded me of it :)
You can also hammer leaves that contain tanins and soak the fabric in iron acetate (iron wool dissolved in white vinegar for a couple of weeks) to reveal the print : different species give different colours, from a bluish green to black through a few purples. Some flowers give surprising results, like yellow petals giving a deep purple...
i forgot about that! i saw someone do it on a pillowcase once maybe if you take a historical approach like wearing a shift under the garment that you eco printed and didn't wash it as often would the print stay longer?
Morgan: "These are my messy clothes!" Also Morgan: *looks just stunning* Us: *surprised pikachu face* I love all your projects and wild ideas! I have so many things I want to try because of your videos!
I'm thinking... if you would take apart the fully gathered dress at the waist seam, it would not only eliminate all the white patches left in the wrinkles, but also greatly ease the problem of trying to do arrangements and exposure on such a large garment. Then you can easily redo the gathers and reattach the skirt.
I wonder if a dressmaker, on etsy or otherwise, would be okay giving you the pieces separate, and then you could avoid the taking apart step. Granted I am so beginner and love this idea so much that I contemplated if you could convince someone to give you all the pieces, treat and create on nice, smaller, flat pieces of fabric and then give back to sew together! I imagine understandable reluctance, but a person can dream!
I was honestly expecting here to make her own dress and put the pieces separately into the sun so they could lay down flat. When she brought in the finished dress I was a bit surprised but the end result looks pretty!
I’m so obsessed with the like tiger-striping on the final dress! It reminds of me like sunlight dappling in the forest, and the ferns only enhance it! The final product is so beautiful
This was fun! But as an x-ray tech from the olden days when we processed our film in a darkroom, I have to say it was freaking me out seeing you exposing the treated material to even the smallest bit of light...Lol! Old habits "dye" hard? Lol! Awesome video!
cyanotypes are brilliant for this! i remember using red light when i started out, but really, as long as it's not direct sunlight, it has no effect on the end result. it's a much more forgiving process!
Cianotypes are less sensitive than modern film, that made them a more enjoyable process for me, as I didn't had to be so paranoid on the dark room while messing with it lol
Thanks so much for this inside info. I just got a cyanotype kit for my birthday and what I'm familiar with is analog photography. I was wondering if I have to turn the whole flat into a darkroom in order to dry my prepared fabric. But this sounds as if I should be ok just doing it after sunset and putting an additional shade over the drying rack. Not working about light pollution from distant streetlight or the moon.
As a photography student, I took an alternate processes class in college where we learned a number of historical photographic processes, including cyanotype. It was my favorite due to its ease (you really just need some chemicals and UV light) and that beautiful blue color you get in the final result. This is such a cool application for cyanotype processes!
I took a similar class about 35 years ago. I have been fascinated by cyanotype, ambrotypes, and all other alternative photographic techniques ever since. I must try sewing with it now!
Yeah, I took an alternative photo printmaking class at MassArt back in the 80's and loved it all. The best part was getting special permission to go to Harvard's chemical supply department to buy some of the otherwise restricted chemicals.
The scarf came out beautifully, even with its random lighter section. And the other tops look awesome! But the first dress is a masterpiece! So gorgeous & unique. Would make beautiful pillowcases, tea towels, towels etc. And I love the 2nd dress too, especially the bodice decorations the second time around.
I love this technique. You can use glass the other way around too if you like. What I mean is arrange your objects on glass, or sandwich between two sheets of glass or clear plexi and thus have time to make your arrangement before exposing the fabric and laying the glass on top. That way you can also make (near) identical copies of the same print. Making your prints on cut out pattern pieces of a garment solves the gather problem and allows for planning where seams meet and continuous pattern. I don't remember but exactly how but there were ways to manipulate the color and exposure further post printing. It's been decades since I tried this in art school so I don't remember all the details. But I also sortof liked laying plantmatter loosely and getting a more abstract shadow effect in variations of blue. Besides objects, organic or other, you can make patterns using duck tape, shapes in black paper and drawing or painting with black paint on glass, printing out negatives of photos on clear plastic film or shaping soft wire and laying out. I remember all the students work as very different and personal. It's a great way to tell a story. Upcycling thrifted white table cloths and napkins with cyanotype is beautiful! Use a wire hanger to dry a dress to eliminate lines. Your dress is just gorgeous and a much cooler garment now than in plain white! Silk is awesone for this, and the lighter band looks entirely intentional and adds interest imo. Happy accident you can use for your advantage!
In response to update 2: When really testing the oxy-soap thingie, it turned very yellow and I thought "oooh, fun colour!" because it still showed the white areas. I wonder if the whole garment could be altered after the first layer back to yellow-ish, and THEN another layer or two of darker blue over that, so that the areas covered in the latter exposures keep both the old pattern, AND a different colour. (I love contrasting colours so all manners of blue-yellow-green are just fun). ... I just realised you could paint fabric like a canvas. Both making depth with adding layers (MOUNTAINS AND TREES), but also making yellow-ish areas pop out. Or green. All kinds of forest-scapes. Hmmmmm.
This is SUCH a cool project!!! I remember doing sun prints as a kid. I thought they were THE COOLEST. You dialed it up to 1,000, and the result is GORGEOUS! I absolutely love how much methodical planning you put into this. This is unique and science-y like a Ms. Frizzle dress with a refined polish. Well done!
Cyanotype toning! I started googling around as one does with a cool thing one wants to do and apparently the original cyanotypers didn't want everything blue and figured out some techniques to change the color. And the first step in cyanotype toning is bleaching the material, which turns it yellow. So next time you accidentally oxiclean something, try dunking it in a bunch of coffee and you should change the print to black.
yes!! i remember doing experiments with toning! i found baking soda works well to "bleach" it, and black tea (pg tips, to be precise!) was a better toner than coffee
To be honest, I think that gold/tan color that the dark blue turns into after the oxi-clean actually looks really, really nice when it's fully saturated like in the test (as opposed to the half-baked laundry accident). Obviously not what you wanted, but another good method to get another very different color out of the dye and make full use of it. In fact, you could probably create another piece in full tan color by allowing the whole piece to soak in a high concentration oxi-clean bath--Or maybe even, paint/stamp a pattern with some oxi-clean infused water to create a two-toned or three-toned piece with blue, tan, and/or white (which I think would be a nice color combination if it can be well-controlled... Or else a wild, cool tie-dye if uncontrollable, lol).
I took photography...they taught us how to make a pinhole camera. But a way to experiment further could be hanging the clothing in a black box and with doors you can expose each area for longer or less time. Using stencils you can use for easy design. But honestly...you are amazing. Wonderful thought process and inspiring me into ideas for sure. Just stunning
@@talitherose not only are they saying you could, I can say from experience you both can and should. i did this as an activity as a kid and you can use almost anything including transparency film and like special markers
I think you need a whole lot more light than any sort of camera obscura would offer. Photo negatives and even paper have millisecond to second exposure times. And the camera obscura (pinhole camera) requires a lot more time than that for normal photo film/paper. So the exposure needed for a cyanotype might be years. Unless you're just talking about having a big "door" on top of a box that you bring outside and open when you want to expose the fabric.
I absolutely love your trial and error format! It's so much more educational than the typical "this is how I make things come out perfectly the first time" videos. I have a set of these dyes in my stash, and now I'm inspired to dig them out and do something with them. I live in Israel and the sun here in the summer is BRUTAL. I'm sure I'll get nice crisp patterns as long as I do a test strip and get the timing right.
Yeah, I was thinking of maybe doing pillowcases as a Christmas present! I'd have to do it _now_ though as strong sunlight is not going to be around in a few months, maybe even weeks
I love the stripes from the gathers. They add a lot of interest and stripes are definitely a theme used over and over in fashion throughout history. It's a beautiful dress.
This is interesting. There are so many questions. The more I think about this, the more questions I have. 1. Could you cut out your already washed fabric, top stitch all the edges, apply the chemicals, let the pieces dry flat, lay on the items you want to copy on to your fabric, place the pieces in the sun, then finish the process? 2, Could you use sun lamps? Would using sunlamps give you more control? 3. Will the fabric now fade faster with use and washing? 4. Will the chemicals speed up the decay process of the fibers in your garments? 5. Can you over dye your treated garments? 6. Will the dye change colors with age (like change from blue and white to brown and tan)? 7. Can you use this process on already dyed fabrics (like baby pink, or baby blue, etc.)?
2) any light sources will work! the stronger the better, but it just has to have photons. 3) any dyed fabric fades faster with use and washing, this won't be any different. 5) very probably. I think it would depend on how saturated the colour already is, but you could probably at least change the colour with a different dye added. 6) If you look at old cyanotype photos they don't change much with time so I don't think so, unless they react with chemicals in the air or wash and change from that. 7) yeah, I'd think so. not sure what colour's you'd end up with, but the white impressions would just be the base colour now instead, I think.
Idk why, but “you are my rock” and “you guys are my rocks” have very different vibes. “You are my rock.” - You keep me sane. You keep me on task and tethered to the world. “You guys are my rocks.” - I think y’all are super neat. Y’all make my life interesting and fun. I wish I could carry all of you in my backpack even though the camp counselors said take only pictures. I can’t be a patron, but I love seeing what new things you try every time you post! 💜
I love the white pleats that came on the dress- it totally reminded me of that 90's blue tie dye dress I had, and I miss that dress! Love your videos, they are so much fun and relaxing to watch- thank you for your hard work!
I was actually contemplating if you could create a different enough "tie dye" with this particular chemical process, to be worth doing versus say blue dye or a shibori dye process.
I love doing cyanotype on fabric! I did a few wallets for a vendor event last year and the sold right away. I actually do wet cyanotype more often than dry and it works beautifully. (I wish I could add photos.) Wet cyanotype takes much less exposure time too, and you can add hydrogen peroxide to the rinse water to deepen the blue. It's important to note for people who aren't familiar with cyanotype that it isn't dyeing the fabric. The chemicals are oxidizing onto the fabric and if it isn't rinsed really well, the white areas will continue to oxidise over time with exposure to light, and with clothing items, washing with detergeants will remove the oxidation (as is the case with your beautiful dress.)
She mentioned trying to do this when the fabric was still wet and that it didn’t work - it all just rinsed out w the rinse water. Was that bc she didn’t add H2O2 to the rinse water?
This is lovely! If you want to make something that really feels like the terroir of your home, natural dyeing is so rewarding. Coming into fall now on the East Coast is a great time to collect nuts. Keep an eye out for black walnuts and acorns both are tanic dyes and long lasting on cotton with no mordant. If you add a mordant you can get different browns or even black! For black, I would choose an iron mordant. You can also dye with golden rod (bright yellow on wool and silk using alum mordant) which should be beginning to bloom any day now in nearby fields.
Less useful for dyeing, poke berries have a wonderful color for use as ink or paint. They are very poisonous so not for ingestion and don't use any food tools in the processing of pokeberries
I think a good solution for the dark line across the tank top is a nice ribbon tie. It’s a very good placement for one! Embrace that line and decorate it!
If you’re just wanting to retry, I’d suggest trying something like Rit dye remover. I used it to take the dye out of some hideously dyed raw silk I bought on clearance. I ended up with cream and apricot rather than screaming fuchsia and neon orange tourist Hawaiian prints.
Such a fun experiment and excellent dress. Ferns are one of the oldest type of plants on the planet and make such a beautiful design. Wow, forest witch Morgan is a supercool look
I love these vids where you experiment with different fabrics/mediums/tools. They're so creative & interesting. The dress looks so nice. I really like the white "tiger stripes" a lot, I would have thought they were intentional
I think it's funny that macrame is coming back. I remember making something at a girl scout camp a couple of years ago when I was 9. I very much liked it. My aunts house was full of hanging planters. :D The scarf is gorgeous and this is such a fun experiment. I love the dress! I went to Interior Design school and didn't know that about blueprints!
Oh gosh, that looks like so much fun! I probably would have grabbed a dress and just stood out in the sun while wearing it for a while, just to have a pattern of what parts of the body get more or less exposed to light... And then spend several days washing the dye off of me because I wouldn't think to wear protective clothing under it. 😅
Wow, I appreciate you being bold in the name of art and science. Dying a new dress in a new method is rather brave! But I think it turned out pretty swell, you look lovely!
I completely love the white stripes because it makes it obvious that this wasn‘t a print before this dress was sewn and I think nowadays any hint of a custom piece makes people look twice! It would also be a beautiful way of incorporating pieces of lace that you don‘t have enough of for trim if you do single panels of the skirt before sewing them all together…I just love this project and instantly has a hundred ideas…if only it wasn‘t blue, it doesn‘t suit me as well as it does you! You look absolutely lovely and I adore those sleeves! ❤
i would love to see you do this again if you dye a bunch of fabric and then make a dress, especially a victorian dress reform gown from when this technique was discovered!
In reference to when you mentioned experimenting and trying something new and then responding to yourself with "I say that every video; I should really stop it!" I would like to say that I wholeheartedly disagree. Please do *not* stop it, as that is what I love most about your channel! As a fellow "tryer of something new" and collector of hobbies, your attempts and adventures give me ideas for new fun things that I would like to try while also being entertaining and informative. Never stop!
It's wild how timely this is - my coworker has been experimenting with cyanotypes for a long time and is making invitations for her brother's wedding using cyanotype! I'm curious, did you find that the dried flowers and plants dyed more evenly than the fresh-cut foliage because they were lying flatter?
The fact that you can wash the dress in oxiclean and redo the pattern over and over again is so cool!! I could see myself changing it every few months with plants of the season (evergreens and Holly for winter, Easter flowers for spring ect) just to switch things up
This came out great! The whole experiment reminded me a lot of my old photography class where we would use the typical traditional methods of developing photography and use objects to cast shadows - basically exactly like this but in a dark room setting. My favorite was always lace which would be gorgeous on a garment!
I've always loved the colour of cyanotypes, and it had never occurred to me that you could use the chemicals on fabric! What an fantastic idea! And I LOVE the results. Stunning!
I am speechless. What you did to that dress is pure creativity. You took a beautiful garment and made it a uniquely beautiful garment. Thank you for letting me watch the journey.
Maybe cut out the fabric pieces and BEFORE sewing them together, do the cyanotype printing? You can then lay the pieces completely flat. Then after the printing, sew together the garment as usual. Thanks for the video.
Absolutely gorgeous! Not "chaos incarnate," but Nature Incarnate. '''' And this is Tremendously Profound. Honestly, I wish you could submit this video to a scientific journal. I think there is so much hard science information here - the nature of plants, light, chemistry... The list is endless!
I tried this a few months ago with fabric to make my own dress form, and the results are less than stellar. I’m going to try it again after washing it in some oxi clean! And after seeing your trials, I have a much better idea of how to do it successfully. Always a happy day when there’s a new MD video! :)
I love the final dress and the whole process was so much a fun to observe. Especially since I was sure you were going to dye your fabric and then make a dress out of it not dye an already made dress. I was wrong but it was a lovely surprise. Also the outcome gives of perfect 70's flower child's flower-die jean dress... chef's kiss As far as the washing miss-hap I wonder if setting the dye with heat would help? Either using an iron and pressing the shit out of the fabric after the whole dyeing and drying is over or throwing it in a wash on high temp with no detergent... A set stain is harder to get rid off and if you thing about it a dye is a sort of intentional stain :D
This looks so cool!! Love the placement you chose for the dress and the tank top. Would love to see you try the pattern pieces exposed and then sewing!
THIS REMINDS ME OF MY FIRST BATIK PROJECT. CHAOTIC, AND MESSY, TERRIFYING, AND DELIGHTFUL. (WHO CHOOSES A QUEEN SIZED *HEADBOARD,* AS A FIRST PROJECT, ANYWAY?? THIS BROAD!) GREAT WORK, MS. DONNER!
If you choose to revisit this in the future, using a UV sensitive item of some sort to determine good areas to set up in would be a good idea. Something like the plastic from a blue lizard sunscreen bottle. You might also try a thin coat of black acrylic paint on flower petals to help even out the exposure time.
American Science and Surplus sells a small bag of UV sensitive beads for pretty cheap if you're either close to a physical store, or are ordering other things already and don't mind paying a bit of shipping.
Wow, the final dress makes you look like a forest queen! I love all the experimenting you’ve been doing lately. You’ve inspired me to try out some of these new methods for myself!
Really, thank you for showing the struggles of this process too! This is absolutely something I’d have just dived into thinking I’d get something beautiful on my first go. This was massively educational and the results are so gorgeous! “Experimental, chaotic fun” is my love language.
So incredibly cool! I remember doing this experiment in art school and wanting to take it to the next level. Thank you for your willingness to take this project all the way with test runs, research, precision and redos. It's definitely a big undertaking, but also very compelling and creative. Beautiful results!
Both dresses turned out beautifully! I’m glad you showed the whole process including the chaotic parts because that is super helpful. Those parts can either be used for creative intentions later or for avoiding traps. I absolutely love ferns. I also am noticing with my experiments that they make the best silhouette. Today I used Virginia creeper and dandelion leaf on fabric and I forgot about it in the sun for a while- at least an hour! It was super sunny and hot. The results showed the veins in the leaves and was really unexpected and beautiful. I’m partially using cyanotypes to document the plants in my nursery start up which consist of native plants, medicinals, pollinators and foraged edibles. I think it will help me remember what plants look like at various growth stages and be able to identify them when they are young. I’m in Kentucky and there is so much inspiration from nature. I love that you brought some plants from the west to the east with you. Welcome to the east siyeed!
Definitely going to look into doing this, I love the denim tones of the blue. Regarding the photosensitivity, I wonder how many photography rules would apply here. Like for instance a dark room, usually the entrance to, will have 2 90degree turns, which prevents light pollution from lighted outer rooms in. Red light spectrum will not affect the silver photo paper, is there similar rule set to this? Lots of possible questions to be looked through. Loved to looks you created by the way!!! loved them all!
Thanks! You look absolutely gorg in that dress! It looks like it was made for your body it fits you so well. It makes me want to go buy it but I don’t think it would look quite as perfect on me 🫣 I really enjoyed the video and can’t wait to try this. I never would have thought of this. I am a sloppy sloppy gal and cannot wear light colors without spilling all over myself but I have some light colored clothes I love…this technique might just save them! Thanks again for a fun video
This is awesome! Also, I so see Morgan as a person who owns a metaphysical items/New Agey kind of shop someday where she includes these kinds of clothes in her product lines. :)
Good to know you are a messy kindred! All of my clothes have some sign or symptom of a craft or hobby. I love the re-dyed dress at the end. I admire how persistent you are in getting a result you are happy with. Morgan Donner: experiment, persist, repeat ❤️
So dang cute!!! I really like the idea of doing a skirt with that exposure gradient so it gets lighter towards the waist and doing the dress bodice in white
It's so funny the timing on this video, because I discovered something similar when I took the covers off the windowseat cushions I made 2 years ago. The print I used is dark blue and a very light beige, and the upholstery foam is apparently light sensitive. When the cushions were removed you could clearly see a difference in the color of the foam where the print was. It's a super clever idea to do this with garments, and I love how they turned out. Well done, you!
This was so fun! Is it UV exposure that changes the dye? Because if so you could potentially get more consistent results using UV lamps that you can get for curing UV resin
I did silk screen printing and we created patterns on the screen by using a photo sensitive medium. You then took your drawing which you inked onto a plastic sheet (or photocopied it onto the plastic) the kind used for overhead projectors, taped to the screen and exposed it in a big light box. This box was the size of a fridge and had powerful light tubes in it. Then you washed the screen and everything except your lines washed off.
I loooove that dress!!!! Shows off your beautiful figure! 9.5/10 including the whole process from fabric, sewing and dyeing!!! Introverts are the most interesting! Glad you share with us your life journey!!!!!
I have to say - first off - that your items came out gorgeous! Each of them - and I love the scarf having a different section that honors the passage of a day. I love the double-dyed dress even more, the second time! I'm so so so impressed with your videography & use of graphics. Just astounding. Who has the patience to explain all this to newbies, and make it clear? You do! So, huge thanks. And, I hope this doesn't violate etiquette, but it's super fun to see your looks across several taping sessions. Your hair and wardrobe are full-on glam. Like no one else. So edgy and feminine and timeless. Thank you for your delightful tutorial. You have a new fan.
I thought of shibori as well, would love Morgan to create shibori pieces - you know she would come up with creative twists and talk about techniques and the history of shibori.
I absolutely love all your experiments! You have one of the best channels on youtube. Your tie dyed chemise, your Lisa Frank rainbow dress, your punk secret pants, your latex dress, your Kevlar armor... those are just some of my favorites. Keep playing! I always love what you come up with!
This is seriously SO FREAKING COOL!!!! I had no idea you could purchase these chemicals to use on your own. You have seriously changed my world 😻 Also, your hair looks amazing!!!
tip: with cyanotype, the finished product will oxodize over about a month (this is a good thing! the blue will be darker and the whites more crisp) but you can get cyanotype to oxidize immediately by dunking the finished print in water with a little splash (about a capful) of hydrogen peroxide! i dont know if morgan did this in the video but if youre planning to do this yourself, it wasnt mentioned in the video so i figured id mention it
it was mentioned multiple times
@@clobre_ when? I missed it
@@clobre_ at what time stamp?
@@clobre_ I mean if she did and I missed it, fine, but I didn't hear it mentioned once
She only mentioned that the colour gets more blue after oxidation (a little after 25:00), but nothing about using hydrogen peroxide to speed up the process. Also I think she only mentioned it once.
Here's a fun story: I was a student in 1978 when these chemicals were not as well known for art making so there was some risk. I made an art piece about the size of a king size sheet. I got home and put it in the wash and.... yes you know the rest. I completely redid the piece (hours and hours of work) and I was in luck because through crazy good luck the piece and another ended up at the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute for a show on surface design.
I read that as 1878 at first lmaooo
@@word6344 Shhh, don't expose the immortals among us 😉
I love all the designs. You are very creative. I am going to try this. Could u place the bottom of the dress in a black garbage bag & expose the sun to the top, then do the bottom? I haven’t done any cynotype but was thinking this might work for large pieces. Thank you for sharing 😊
@@word6344 me tooo lolololol
😂😂😂😂😂@@its99pm
The first ever book that was illustrated entirely with photographs (in fact it *consisted* entirely of photographs) was _Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions_ (1843), by Anna Atkins. There’s a lovely Objectivity video about it.
How cool!
Girl power 😎💪
You can see one of the later volumes of this in person in the New York public library
Yes Anna Atkins and her cyanotypes of seaweed, I was curious if someone would mention it!
I downloaded her books on my Kindle. I think it was free.
Honestly, the stripes from folding over seem to well compliment the natural patterns from the plants! It adds extra contrast and interest to the top of the skirt section before the plants start. The dress seems to have turned out best out of everything.
Yes. It can probably be manipulated like shibori for a layered print effect. Think of flowers embroidered on gingham, but in monotone. It would also take a lot longer to dry so thin fabrics in small quantities like silk scarves makes sense for experiment.
To be honest, i love the stripes where the fabric folded. It reminds me of both tie-dye, and those puff-and-slash sleeves on historical European fashion.
Me too!
I like it too! It reminds me of an “empire waist” dress - defines the woman’s figure and flatters all body types are
Red light or "Safe Light" used when developing black and white photos will also work for prepping for cyanotype coloring.
To always get the same exposure use ultra violet led array. A timer will then give the same exposure every time. And old sunning lamp should work as light source.
I used to use a mercury UV reptile lamp, or a CFL blacklight .
Once you get your exposure nailed down it's pretty repeatable
I was wondering thank you
So would a UV nail lamp or UV flashlight work too?
@@loonybinreject Yes, but it will be hard to get an even exposure on larger areas.
Beautiful, and a lovely video, but I feel like there needs to be a SAFETY NOTE: when using any sort of powdered dyes (especially ones that include a form of cyanide as the main ingredient) one should DEFINITELY be wearing a respirator or dust mask. Once it’s mixed in liquid it’s much safer, but you don’t want to be breathing in any of that powder. Well done with the gloves, though. 👍🏻
+
@Matthew Morycinski I’m aware it’s not pure cyanide, that’s why I said “a form of cyanide”. The reason I suggest a respirator is because accidents happen, and a “choking cloud of dust” (as you put it) is not outside the realm of possibility if you drop the container in the wrong way. When using anything that is or even could be toxic it’s better to be safe than sorry, especially if you’re posting videos on the internet. 🤷🏻♀️ It’s my opinion. You’re welcome to disagree with me, but please respond to the words I’ve actually posted rather than your impression of what they are. 👍🏻
@@zyzxzsgedr
Fine powder in general tend to be bad for the lungs.
@@annawaddill4216 well said 🤗 on top of that even if the cloud is small enough you can't see it, fine dust is actually the most harmful as it gets all the way into your lungs
Yep. Safety glasses would also be good.
As a relatively new subscriber, I don't know if this channel has always been "Morgan discovers/thinks of a New Thing, proceeds to research the hecc™out of it and now here's a video", but I'm here for it
it has, at least since ive been watching lol
Morgan kills it in research and execution. I love her channel dearly.
So dyeing fabric off the bolt would be too much work/mess because of the amount of fabric ... but I wonder if cutting the pattern of the dress from the fabric and dyeing the individual pattern pieces would be easier? It'd allow more control over the object arrangements and exposure. Afterward, put the pieces together as a dress as normal.
I was thinking the same thing. Dying the individual cut pattern pieces and making a dress would be so much easier (assuming that you can sew) than what Morgan had to go through.
Yeah, I think this idea would work well.
That's what I would do, but I'd also cut the pieces with extra seam allowance to allow for fraying over the washing and dyeing process.
I just came here to write this.
This is a great method because it also makes it easy to choose the location of each design element on the finished product.
Your comment about blueprints reminded me of my grandmother, who would collect old blueprints which, it turned out were made on linen. She cleaned the ‘blue’ off them and hand stitched handkerchiefs out of them as gifts for friends and family. She was of the ‘make do and mend’ generation, being born at the turn of the 20th century. These days she would be an eco-warrior.
Wow that sounds so cool!
How are your messy clothes prettier than my regular clothes? 🤣 You're adorable and I love all of your fun little experiments!
They started out as regular clothes but through attrition they have become the messy clothes - I love it though, it means I can still do the messy stuff I want to do without fear since the clothes are already a bit mussed 👌
I had a similar thought! My messy clothes are nowhere near cute! Maybe I'll see what cute clothes I have that could be contributed to making messes.
@@alaysiayoung
If you have some cute clothes that have become too worn to use in public, those can become your new messy clothes.
As a mother of tree kids I agree. There's nothing like wearing something that is already dirty and then having a toddler come and wipe their buggers on it and just thinking "That was gross but, oh well it's dirty anyway" 🤷♀️.
This is definitely a unique type of resistance dying. The folded parts actually give it a kind of shibori resistance dyed effect, and similar to the indigo shibori dye color too. It turned out beautifully
Cyanotype reacts with wood when drying, so try not to allow contact with wood when wet. That's what caused the dark line on the tank top. Also, the bleaching action from the oxy clean, is caused by washing soda or sodium carbonate. Ammonia, borax and chlorine bleach will also cause bleaching issues, among other chemicals. I use Woolite All Clothes on my Cyanotype clothes. If you look into cyanotype toning you can get some really great ideas for other looks for cyanotypes as well. Some toners can turn the blue almost black, but I haven't tried them on fabric, only paper (cotton based).
All that said, I loved seeing you experiment with this! I too am the kind of person that wants to do all the things.
So your saying use cool shaped wood blocks for purple?
Oooh great tip!
This is really useful information to know - thank you.
This is great info and deserves to be higher in the upvotes
Really love the Miss Frizzle vibes I get when I watch you experiment with stuff like this.
Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!
Thanks for another great video, this was fun
I honestly didn’t expect the final dress to come out THIS good. It looks stunning, so magical!
You could also paint the outside of a glass jar with black acrylic paint. That should make a container that would protect your mixture from sun exposure.
Oooh good idea!
I'm so excited to see you doing this. I've been cyanotype printing for the last couple of years, and you definitely can print using a wet process. You can get some amazing effects by adding washing up liquid bubbles squashed under the glass. There's also no need to dry and press your plant material first. Just pick stuff and lay that on top of your fabric. Pop a sheet of glass on top. You can put a second layer of plant material on top of that, and a second sheet of glass on top of that. That will add some depth to your final image
Oh wow. That sounds amazing. Thanks for the idea.
Have you ever played with us lights to artificially darken parts? Or to control the direction of light?
*ultra violet lights
@@iankrom510 I haven't, but a friend does her cyanotype printing on a sunbed!
@Tamzin Phillips
Wow! Wonderful suggestions!
This technique is so interesting in respect to all the variety of effects that can be achieved by manipulating the medium and the process...
Love your ideas!
This is weirdly serendipitous timing, I was just thinking about how I'm gonna dye the parasol I'm crocheting once it's made. Part of me likes the concept of sun-dyeing a sun-shade, it's weirdly poetic. And Jacquard Solarfast comes in a variety of colors, so I could get fancy with it...hmm...
There is also this technique called eco print where you hammer leafs or other plants into fabric until the chlorophyll stains the fabric and leaves the shape of the plant.
It’s really pretty and easy, this Video reminded me of it :)
you can also print with rusty objects, the staining can be quite interesting. unfortunately eco printing isnt the most lightfast
You can also hammer leaves that contain tanins and soak the fabric in iron acetate (iron wool dissolved in white vinegar for a couple of weeks) to reveal the print : different species give different colours, from a bluish green to black through a few purples. Some flowers give surprising results, like yellow petals giving a deep purple...
i forgot about that! i saw someone do it on a pillowcase once maybe if you take a historical approach like wearing a shift under the garment that you eco printed and didn't wash it as often would the print stay longer?
I thought of it! I discovered through a Dior 2020 fashion show. Very cool indeed! ua-cam.com/video/zmYVwz_r7a8/v-deo.html
@@NouriaDiallo
Morgan: "These are my messy clothes!"
Also Morgan: *looks just stunning*
Us: *surprised pikachu face*
I love all your projects and wild ideas! I have so many things I want to try because of your videos!
I'm thinking... if you would take apart the fully gathered dress at the waist seam, it would not only eliminate all the white patches left in the wrinkles, but also greatly ease the problem of trying to do arrangements and exposure on such a large garment. Then you can easily redo the gathers and reattach the skirt.
Depending on how the seams are finished, that can definitely be an option.
Very accurate (both comments) 'I Do Declare' makes stunning pieces, which seem to be impeccably made.
I wonder if a dressmaker, on etsy or otherwise, would be okay giving you the pieces separate, and then you could avoid the taking apart step. Granted I am so beginner and love this idea so much that I contemplated if you could convince someone to give you all the pieces, treat and create on nice, smaller, flat pieces of fabric and then give back to sew together! I imagine understandable reluctance, but a person can dream!
You could also do a modified tie dye by using the " ties" to keep the areas unexposed .
I was honestly expecting here to make her own dress and put the pieces separately into the sun so they could lay down flat. When she brought in the finished dress I was a bit surprised but the end result looks pretty!
I’m so obsessed with the like tiger-striping on the final dress! It reminds of me like sunlight dappling in the forest, and the ferns only enhance it! The final product is so beautiful
This was fun! But as an x-ray tech from the olden days when we processed our film in a darkroom, I have to say it was freaking me out seeing you exposing the treated material to even the smallest bit of light...Lol! Old habits "dye" hard? Lol! Awesome video!
cyanotypes are brilliant for this! i remember using red light when i started out, but really, as long as it's not direct sunlight, it has no effect on the end result. it's a much more forgiving process!
Cianotypes are less sensitive than modern film, that made them a more enjoyable process for me, as I didn't had to be so paranoid on the dark room while messing with it lol
Thanks so much for this inside info. I just got a cyanotype kit for my birthday and what I'm familiar with is analog photography. I was wondering if I have to turn the whole flat into a darkroom in order to dry my prepared fabric. But this sounds as if I should be ok just doing it after sunset and putting an additional shade over the drying rack. Not working about light pollution from distant streetlight or the moon.
Personally, I love the so called "tiger stripes"! They look just like the variegation on monstera or ivy, so I think that it fits well
As a photography student, I took an alternate processes class in college where we learned a number of historical photographic processes, including cyanotype. It was my favorite due to its ease (you really just need some chemicals and UV light) and that beautiful blue color you get in the final result. This is such a cool application for cyanotype processes!
I took a similar class about 35 years ago. I have been fascinated by cyanotype, ambrotypes, and all other alternative photographic techniques ever since. I must try sewing with it now!
Share Food poor sugar lips
Yeah, I took an alternative photo printmaking class at MassArt back in the 80's and loved it all. The best part was getting special permission to go to Harvard's chemical supply department to buy some of the otherwise restricted chemicals.
On the tank top, the darker line actually gives it the illusion of a waistline. It is actually very flattering.
The scarf came out beautifully, even with its random lighter section. And the other tops look awesome! But the first dress is a masterpiece! So gorgeous & unique. Would make beautiful pillowcases, tea towels, towels etc. And I love the 2nd dress too, especially the bodice decorations the second time around.
I love this technique. You can use glass the other way around too if you like. What I mean is arrange your objects on glass, or sandwich between two sheets of glass or clear plexi and thus have time to make your arrangement before exposing the fabric and laying the glass on top. That way you can also make (near) identical copies of the same print.
Making your prints on cut out pattern pieces of a garment solves the gather problem and allows for planning where seams meet and continuous pattern.
I don't remember but exactly how but there were ways to manipulate the color and exposure further post printing. It's been decades since I tried this in art school so I don't remember all the details. But I also sortof liked laying plantmatter loosely and getting a more abstract shadow effect in variations of blue.
Besides objects, organic or other, you can make patterns using duck tape, shapes in black paper and drawing or painting with black paint on glass, printing out negatives of photos on clear plastic film or shaping soft wire and laying out.
I remember all the students work as very different and personal. It's a great way to tell a story. Upcycling thrifted white table cloths and napkins with cyanotype is beautiful! Use a wire hanger to dry a dress to eliminate lines. Your dress is just gorgeous and a much cooler garment now than in plain white!
Silk is awesone for this, and the lighter band looks entirely intentional and adds interest imo. Happy accident you can use for your advantage!
Yesss! Sandwiching the patterns is the way to go! Ty!
In response to update 2: When really testing the oxy-soap thingie, it turned very yellow and I thought "oooh, fun colour!" because it still showed the white areas. I wonder if the whole garment could be altered after the first layer back to yellow-ish, and THEN another layer or two of darker blue over that, so that the areas covered in the latter exposures keep both the old pattern, AND a different colour. (I love contrasting colours so all manners of blue-yellow-green are just fun).
... I just realised you could paint fabric like a canvas. Both making depth with adding layers (MOUNTAINS AND TREES), but also making yellow-ish areas pop out. Or green. All kinds of forest-scapes. Hmmmmm.
This is SUCH a cool project!!! I remember doing sun prints as a kid. I thought they were THE COOLEST. You dialed it up to 1,000, and the result is GORGEOUS! I absolutely love how much methodical planning you put into this.
This is unique and science-y like a Ms. Frizzle dress with a refined polish. Well done!
I love how you approach projects with a combination of scientific research and whimsy!
Cyanotype toning! I started googling around as one does with a cool thing one wants to do and apparently the original cyanotypers didn't want everything blue and figured out some techniques to change the color. And the first step in cyanotype toning is bleaching the material, which turns it yellow. So next time you accidentally oxiclean something, try dunking it in a bunch of coffee and you should change the print to black.
yes!! i remember doing experiments with toning! i found baking soda works well to "bleach" it, and black tea (pg tips, to be precise!) was a better toner than coffee
To be honest, I think that gold/tan color that the dark blue turns into after the oxi-clean actually looks really, really nice when it's fully saturated like in the test (as opposed to the half-baked laundry accident). Obviously not what you wanted, but another good method to get another very different color out of the dye and make full use of it. In fact, you could probably create another piece in full tan color by allowing the whole piece to soak in a high concentration oxi-clean bath--Or maybe even, paint/stamp a pattern with some oxi-clean infused water to create a two-toned or three-toned piece with blue, tan, and/or white (which I think would be a nice color combination if it can be well-controlled... Or else a wild, cool tie-dye if uncontrollable, lol).
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing!!
I took photography...they taught us how to make a pinhole camera.
But a way to experiment further could be hanging the clothing in a black box and with doors you can expose each area for longer or less time. Using stencils you can use for easy design.
But honestly...you are amazing.
Wonderful thought process and inspiring me into ideas for sure.
Just stunning
Hello! Are you saying I could draw/stencil on clothing (instead of plant bits) and it’ll do the same thing?
@@talitherose not only are they saying you could, I can say from experience you both can and should. i did this as an activity as a kid and you can use almost anything including transparency film and like special markers
@@talitherose
Anything that blocks the light will work.
I think you need a whole lot more light than any sort of camera obscura would offer. Photo negatives and even paper have millisecond to second exposure times. And the camera obscura (pinhole camera) requires a lot more time than that for normal photo film/paper. So the exposure needed for a cyanotype might be years.
Unless you're just talking about having a big "door" on top of a box that you bring outside and open when you want to expose the fabric.
I absolutely love your trial and error format! It's so much more educational than the typical "this is how I make things come out perfectly the first time" videos. I have a set of these dyes in my stash, and now I'm inspired to dig them out and do something with them. I live in Israel and the sun here in the summer is BRUTAL. I'm sure I'll get nice crisp patterns as long as I do a test strip and get the timing right.
this would be fun to do for pillowcases, and if you felt bold enough: a thin blanket or sheet
Yeah, I was thinking of maybe doing pillowcases as a Christmas present! I'd have to do it _now_ though as strong sunlight is not going to be around in a few months, maybe even weeks
I love the stripes from the gathers. They add a lot of interest and stripes are definitely a theme used over and over in fashion throughout history. It's a beautiful dress.
This is interesting. There are so many questions. The more I think about this, the more questions I have.
1. Could you cut out your already washed fabric, top stitch all the edges, apply the chemicals, let the pieces dry flat, lay on the items you want to copy on to your fabric, place the pieces in the sun, then finish the process?
2, Could you use sun lamps? Would using sunlamps give you more control?
3. Will the fabric now fade faster with use and washing?
4. Will the chemicals speed up the decay process of the fibers in your garments?
5. Can you over dye your treated garments?
6. Will the dye change colors with age (like change from blue and white to brown and tan)?
7. Can you use this process on already dyed fabrics (like baby pink, or baby blue, etc.)?
2) any light sources will work! the stronger the better, but it just has to have photons.
3) any dyed fabric fades faster with use and washing, this won't be any different.
5) very probably. I think it would depend on how saturated the colour already is, but you could probably at least change the colour with a different dye added.
6) If you look at old cyanotype photos they don't change much with time so I don't think so, unless they react with chemicals in the air or wash and change from that.
7) yeah, I'd think so. not sure what colour's you'd end up with, but the white impressions would just be the base colour now instead, I think.
Idk why, but “you are my rock” and “you guys are my rocks” have very different vibes.
“You are my rock.” - You keep me sane. You keep me on task and tethered to the world.
“You guys are my rocks.” - I think y’all are super neat. Y’all make my life interesting and fun. I wish I could carry all of you in my backpack even though the camp counselors said take only pictures.
I can’t be a patron, but I love seeing what new things you try every time you post! 💜
I love the white pleats that came on the dress- it totally reminded me of that 90's blue tie dye dress I had, and I miss that dress! Love your videos, they are so much fun and relaxing to watch- thank you for your hard work!
I was actually contemplating if you could create a different enough "tie dye" with this particular chemical process, to be worth doing versus say blue dye or a shibori dye process.
I love doing cyanotype on fabric! I did a few wallets for a vendor event last year and the sold right away.
I actually do wet cyanotype more often than dry and it works beautifully. (I wish I could add photos.) Wet cyanotype takes much less exposure time too, and you can add hydrogen peroxide to the rinse water to deepen the blue.
It's important to note for people who aren't familiar with cyanotype that it isn't dyeing the fabric. The chemicals are oxidizing onto the fabric and if it isn't rinsed really well, the white areas will continue to oxidise over time with exposure to light, and with clothing items, washing with detergeants will remove the oxidation (as is the case with your beautiful dress.)
Does this mean, then, that there is no fixative that will make it permanent?
She mentioned trying to do this when the fabric was still wet and that it didn’t work - it all just rinsed out w the rinse water.
Was that bc she didn’t add H2O2 to the rinse water?
@@kkilljoy3588 its different chemicals, but same concept. The different color sunprints are the ones you can do wet.
This is lovely! If you want to make something that really feels like the terroir of your home, natural dyeing is so rewarding. Coming into fall now on the East Coast is a great time to collect nuts. Keep an eye out for black walnuts and acorns both are tanic dyes and long lasting on cotton with no mordant. If you add a mordant you can get different browns or even black! For black, I would choose an iron mordant. You can also dye with golden rod (bright yellow on wool and silk using alum mordant) which should be beginning to bloom any day now in nearby fields.
On that note, looking up other useful plants for other colours is worthwhile like elderberries.
Less useful for dyeing, poke berries have a wonderful color for use as ink or paint. They are very poisonous so not for ingestion and don't use any food tools in the processing of pokeberries
I think a good solution for the dark line across the tank top is a nice ribbon tie. It’s a very good placement for one! Embrace that line and decorate it!
If you’re just wanting to retry, I’d suggest trying something like Rit dye remover. I used it to take the dye out of some hideously dyed raw silk I bought on clearance. I ended up with cream and apricot rather than screaming fuchsia and neon orange tourist Hawaiian prints.
This stuff isn't really technically dye. It's a chemical process. So the dye remover wouldn't really do much
@@CeeGeeFursuits As dyeing fabric is a chemical process, it very well may work, and is definitely worth a shot.
The 45-minute cloudy day test looks like it would make a fun lampshade
Such a fun experiment and excellent dress. Ferns are one of the oldest type of plants on the planet and make such a beautiful design. Wow, forest witch Morgan is a supercool look
Dress turned out beautiful, congratulations!
I love these vids where you experiment with different fabrics/mediums/tools. They're so creative & interesting. The dress looks so nice. I really like the white "tiger stripes" a lot, I would have thought they were intentional
I love this so much! My 10-year-old daughter is now also a big fan of your arts and experiments. Thank you so much!🌼🌿☘🍁🌿🌼
That dress is gorgeous. Love the variations in the colours, beautifully random. Also loved the collar necklace…..so very pretty :)
I think it's funny that macrame is coming back. I remember making something at a girl scout camp a couple of years ago when I was 9. I very much liked it. My aunts house was full of hanging planters. :D The scarf is gorgeous and this is such a fun experiment. I love the dress! I went to Interior Design school and didn't know that about blueprints!
Oh gosh, that looks like so much fun!
I probably would have grabbed a dress and just stood out in the sun while wearing it for a while, just to have a pattern of what parts of the body get more or less exposed to light... And then spend several days washing the dye off of me because I wouldn't think to wear protective clothing under it. 😅
Wow, I appreciate you being bold in the name of art and science. Dying a new dress in a new method is rather brave! But I think it turned out pretty swell, you look lovely!
I completely love the white stripes because it makes it obvious that this wasn‘t a print before this dress was sewn and I think nowadays any hint of a custom piece makes people look twice!
It would also be a beautiful way of incorporating pieces of lace that you don‘t have enough of for trim if you do single panels of the skirt before sewing them all together…I just love this project and instantly has a hundred ideas…if only it wasn‘t blue, it doesn‘t suit me as well as it does you!
You look absolutely lovely and I adore those sleeves! ❤
I reaalllly love how the gathers made stripes like that
i would love to see you do this again if you dye a bunch of fabric and then make a dress, especially a victorian dress reform gown from when this technique was discovered!
OR a mediveal kirtle! omg so cute!
In reference to when you mentioned experimenting and trying something new and then responding to yourself with "I say that every video; I should really stop it!" I would like to say that I wholeheartedly disagree. Please do *not* stop it, as that is what I love most about your channel!
As a fellow "tryer of something new" and collector of hobbies, your attempts and adventures give me ideas for new fun things that I would like to try while also being entertaining and informative. Never stop!
It's wild how timely this is - my coworker has been experimenting with cyanotypes for a long time and is making invitations for her brother's wedding using cyanotype! I'm curious, did you find that the dried flowers and plants dyed more evenly than the fresh-cut foliage because they were lying flatter?
i definitely found this! the image comes out much crisper and in-focus when it's pressed absolutely flat to the surface with glass
The fact that you can wash the dress in oxiclean and redo the pattern over and over again is so cool!! I could see myself changing it every few months with plants of the season (evergreens and Holly for winter, Easter flowers for spring ect) just to switch things up
This came out great! The whole experiment reminded me a lot of my old photography class where we would use the typical traditional methods of developing photography and use objects to cast shadows - basically exactly like this but in a dark room setting. My favorite was always lace which would be gorgeous on a garment!
Pictograms!
THAT. That would be cool!
I am absolutely stunned…your dress turned out so incredibly beautiful. every crease & fold, the shape of the dress…the ferns!! 1000000/10 💚✨
I've always loved the colour of cyanotypes, and it had never occurred to me that you could use the chemicals on fabric! What an fantastic idea! And I LOVE the results. Stunning!
I am speechless. What you did to that dress is pure creativity. You took a beautiful garment and made it a uniquely beautiful garment.
Thank you for letting me watch the journey.
Maybe cut out the fabric pieces and BEFORE sewing them together, do the cyanotype printing? You can then lay the pieces completely flat. Then after the printing, sew together the garment as usual. Thanks for the video.
Absolutely gorgeous! Not "chaos incarnate," but Nature Incarnate. '''' And this is Tremendously Profound.
Honestly, I wish you could submit this video to a scientific journal. I think there is so much hard science information here - the nature of plants, light, chemistry... The list is endless!
I tried this a few months ago with fabric to make my own dress form, and the results are less than stellar. I’m going to try it again after washing it in some oxi clean! And after seeing your trials, I have a much better idea of how to do it successfully. Always a happy day when there’s a new MD video! :)
I love the final dress and the whole process was so much a fun to observe. Especially since I was sure you were going to dye your fabric and then make a dress out of it not dye an already made dress. I was wrong but it was a lovely surprise. Also the outcome gives of perfect 70's flower child's flower-die jean dress... chef's kiss
As far as the washing miss-hap I wonder if setting the dye with heat would help? Either using an iron and pressing the shit out of the fabric after the whole dyeing and drying is over or throwing it in a wash on high temp with no detergent... A set stain is harder to get rid off and if you thing about it a dye is a sort of intentional stain :D
I love how the daisies turned out and I want to try this with tie-dye techniques so much. Also, that choker 😮
That dress is STUNNING!!!!!!! I absolutely love it! What a happy surprise those white stripes were!
The chemist in me: I LOVE this so much.
The chemistry teacher in me: AAAAAHHHHHHH there goes all lab safety
I think the accident was for the better. The double exposure looks soooo good!!!
This looks so cool!! Love the placement you chose for the dress and the tank top. Would love to see you try the pattern pieces exposed and then sewing!
THIS REMINDS ME OF MY FIRST BATIK PROJECT. CHAOTIC, AND MESSY, TERRIFYING, AND DELIGHTFUL.
(WHO CHOOSES A QUEEN SIZED *HEADBOARD,* AS A FIRST PROJECT, ANYWAY?? THIS BROAD!)
GREAT WORK, MS. DONNER!
If you choose to revisit this in the future, using a UV sensitive item of some sort to determine good areas to set up in would be a good idea. Something like the plastic from a blue lizard sunscreen bottle.
You might also try a thin coat of black acrylic paint on flower petals to help even out the exposure time.
American Science and Surplus sells a small bag of UV sensitive beads for pretty cheap if you're either close to a physical store, or are ordering other things already and don't mind paying a bit of shipping.
Love the way you test things and show successes and failures. Never give up attitude is great.
Wow, the final dress makes you look like a forest queen! I love all the experimenting you’ve been doing lately. You’ve inspired me to try out some of these new methods for myself!
The scarf is a work of art. The dress is beautiful. Both are special.
Really, thank you for showing the struggles of this process too! This is absolutely something I’d have just dived into thinking I’d get something beautiful on my first go. This was massively educational and the results are so gorgeous! “Experimental, chaotic fun” is my love language.
That choker that says Amor is really interesting!
The fabric printing was really neat to watch!
So incredibly cool! I remember doing this experiment in art school and wanting to take it to the next level. Thank you for your willingness to take this project all the way with test runs, research, precision and redos. It's definitely a big undertaking, but also very compelling and creative. Beautiful results!
Both dresses turned out beautifully! I’m glad you showed the whole process including the chaotic parts because that is super helpful. Those parts can either be used for creative intentions later or for avoiding traps. I absolutely love ferns. I also am noticing with my experiments that they make the best silhouette. Today I used Virginia creeper and dandelion leaf on fabric and I forgot about it in the sun for a while- at least an hour! It was super sunny and hot. The results showed the veins in the leaves and was really unexpected and beautiful. I’m partially using cyanotypes to document the plants in my nursery start up which consist of native plants, medicinals, pollinators and foraged edibles. I think it will help me remember what plants look like at various growth stages and be able to identify them when they are young. I’m in Kentucky and there is so much inspiration from nature. I love that you brought some plants from the west to the east with you. Welcome to the east siyeed!
Definitely going to look into doing this, I love the denim tones of the blue. Regarding the photosensitivity, I wonder how many photography rules would apply here. Like for instance a dark room, usually the entrance to, will have 2 90degree turns, which prevents light pollution from lighted outer rooms in. Red light spectrum will not affect the silver photo paper, is there similar rule set to this? Lots of possible questions to be looked through. Loved to looks you created by the way!!! loved them all!
Thanks! You look absolutely gorg in that dress! It looks like it was made for your body it fits you so well.
It makes me want to go buy it but I don’t think it would look quite as perfect on me 🫣
I really enjoyed the video and can’t wait to try this. I never would have thought of this. I am a sloppy sloppy gal and cannot wear light colors without spilling all over myself but I have some light colored clothes I love…this technique might just save them!
Thanks again for a fun video
This is awesome! Also, I so see Morgan as a person who owns a metaphysical items/New Agey kind of shop someday where she includes these kinds of clothes in her product lines. :)
I love how you encourage and reinforce science literacy through your videos!
Good to know you are a messy kindred! All of my clothes have some sign or symptom of a craft or hobby. I love the re-dyed dress at the end. I admire how persistent you are in getting a result you are happy with.
Morgan Donner: experiment, persist, repeat
❤️
So dang cute!!! I really like the idea of doing a skirt with that exposure gradient so it gets lighter towards the waist and doing the dress bodice in white
So super cool and creative 😎
I bet you could do a tye dye effect by twisting or knotting sections like sleeves or scarves.
Such fun
Morgan, you have the fanciest "messy work clothes" I've ever seen on anyone! Another fun, informative, entertaining video! 💖
It's so funny the timing on this video, because I discovered something similar when I took the covers off the windowseat cushions I made 2 years ago. The print I used is dark blue and a very light beige, and the upholstery foam is apparently light sensitive. When the cushions were removed you could clearly see a difference in the color of the foam where the print was.
It's a super clever idea to do this with garments, and I love how they turned out. Well done, you!
The wonder clip earrings are *chef’s kiss*. I love watching you steer into your weird.
This was so fun! Is it UV exposure that changes the dye? Because if so you could potentially get more consistent results using UV lamps that you can get for curing UV resin
I thought that too! And with a uv light you don’t have to stop for weather
It does have to be a "point" light source though so that the edges are sharp. So, a single lamp placed far away :)
I did silk screen printing and we created patterns on the screen by using a photo sensitive medium. You then took your drawing which you inked onto a plastic sheet (or photocopied it onto the plastic) the kind used for overhead projectors, taped to the screen and exposed it in a big light box. This box was the size of a fridge and had powerful light tubes in it. Then you washed the screen and everything except your lines washed off.
I loooove that dress!!!! Shows off your beautiful figure! 9.5/10 including the whole process from fabric, sewing and dyeing!!! Introverts are the most interesting! Glad you share with us your life journey!!!!!
Thank you for teaching and experimenting for us!!
I have to say - first off - that your items came out gorgeous! Each of them - and I love the scarf having a different section that honors the passage of a day. I love the double-dyed dress even more, the second time! I'm so so so impressed with your videography & use of graphics. Just astounding. Who has the patience to explain all this to newbies, and make it clear? You do! So, huge thanks. And, I hope this doesn't violate etiquette, but it's super fun to see your looks across several taping sessions. Your hair and wardrobe are full-on glam. Like no one else. So edgy and feminine and timeless. Thank you for your delightful tutorial. You have a new fan.
It looks very beautiful! Reminds a bit of shibori, I think because of the color. I think shibori might be a fun experiment as well!
I thought of shibori as well, would love Morgan to create shibori pieces - you know she would come up with creative twists and talk about techniques and the history of shibori.
I absolutely love all your experiments! You have one of the best channels on youtube. Your tie dyed chemise, your Lisa Frank rainbow dress, your punk secret pants, your latex dress, your Kevlar armor... those are just some of my favorites. Keep playing! I always love what you come up with!
I love your little flowers + sewing supplies exposures! so cute!
Thank you!
I love the way your mind works. It’s always so much fun to see what direction we’re going in today.
This is seriously SO FREAKING COOL!!!! I had no idea you could purchase these chemicals to use on your own. You have seriously changed my world 😻 Also, your hair looks amazing!!!