Memory Mists / Spray Dyes

Memory Mists
Design Your Own Fabric
A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Using the spray dyes is easy. Simply point and shoot and you can lay down color!
There are so many possibilities.

These shawls started out as plain white and were transformed into works of art with Memory Mist sprays. The instructions on how you can create your own works of art are below.

Directions

HOW TO USE THE MISTS:

Fabric Suggestions:
As with most dyes and embellishments, natural fabrics are your first choice. Use these dyes on silks, cottons, linens, rayons and silks. To set the dyes, you heat-set them by ironing the fabric on a steam setting. Make sure you choose fabrics that can withstand the setting process.
Setup:
Wear old clothes or an apron.

Cover your work surface. I use plastic drop-cloths from the paint section of the hardware store. Another option is to use vinyl tablecloths from the dollar store.

Wear vinyl gloves. The dyes will wash off your hands but it might take a day or two. Disposable gloves will keep your hands clean. The painting section of hardware stores have gloves that work great for the dyes. You can buy a whole box of disposable gloves for a reasonable price.

For Cleanup:

Make sure you wipe down your work surface between fabrics. You can use paper towels but for optimal results, use baby wipes.

Spraying:

Spraying is easy. You simply aim and shoot.

Hold the spray bottle 6 to 12 inches from the fabric. Vary the distance to get the effect you want. We recommend that you experiment on cheap fabric to hone your skills before you move to that expensive silk.

These dyes are designed to add little dots of colors to the top of the fabric. On occasion, larger dots will go down. This is just part of the charm of this product, the unpredictability. The result is spectacular.

If you hold the spray bottle to close to the fabric, the liquid will saturate the fabric and you will lose the beautiful texture.

Multiple Colors:

Add depth to your finished project. Lay down a light coating of one color then change to another color and lightly spritz. The two colors work together to form a rich amalgam of color.

Make Them Permanent :

These dyes are easy to set. Simply iron the fabric using a steam setting. Just to be safe, I go over the piece twice. After this, your fabric should be washable and dry-cleanable. Of course you should run a test before using this on your final project.

If you've sprayed heavily, you might find some over spray will rinse off the first time you wash your project. Usually, this will not diminish the color in the fabric. Because of the extra dye running off in the water, the first time you wash your project, you should not have other items in the washer.

Additional Techniques

It's easy to add interest to your project. Click on the pictures of the samples below for details.

The magnificent shawl you saw at the top of this page was created with the "scrunch" method. Click on the picture to find out how.

The sample above was made using the "torn paper" method. For directions click on the picture above. This shawl, also see at the top, uses the rectangular mask method of spraying. Click on the picture for directions.



Memory Mists Design Your Own Fabric A Step-by-Step Tutorial Using the spray dyes is easy. Simply point and shoot and you can lay down color! There are so many possibilities.
	These shawls started out as plain white and were transformed into works of art with Memory Mist sprays. The instructions on how you can create your own works of art are below.
Directions

		HOW TO USE THE MISTS: Fabric Suggestions: As with most dyes and embellishments, natural fabrics are your first choice. Use these dyes on silks, cottons, linens, rayons and silks. To set the dyes, you heat-set them by ironing the fabric on a steam setting. Make sure you choose fabrics that can withstand the setting process. Setup: Wear old clothes or an apron. Cover your work surface. I use plastic drop-cloths from the paint section of the hardware store. Another option is to use vinyl tablecloths from the dollar store. Wear vinyl gloves. The dyes will wash off your hands but it might take a day or two. Disposable gloves will keep your hands clean. The painting section of hardware stores have gloves that work great for the dyes. You can buy a whole box of disposable gloves for a reasonable price. For Cleanup: Make sure you wipe down your work surface between fabrics. You can use paper towels but for optimal results, use baby wipes.
Spraying: Spraying is easy. You simply aim and shoot. Hold the spray bottle 6 to 12 inches from the fabric. Vary the distance to get the effect you want. We recommend that you experiment on cheap fabric to hone your skills before you move to that expensive silk. These dyes are designed to add little dots of colors to the top of the fabric. On occasion, larger dots will go down. This is just part of the charm of this product, the unpredictability. The result is spectacular. If you hold the spray bottle to close to the fabric, the liquid will saturate the fabric and you will lose the beautiful texture. Multiple Colors: Add depth to your finished project. Lay down a light coating of one color then change to another color and lightly spritz. The two colors work together to form a rich amalgam of color. Make Them Permanent : These dyes are easy to set. Simply iron the fabric using a steam setting. Just to be safe, I go over the piece twice. After this, your fabric should be washable and dry-cleanable. Of course you should run a test before using this on your final project. If you've sprayed heavily, you might find some over spray will rinse off the first time you wash your project. Usually, this will not diminish the color in the fabric. Because of the extra dye running off in the water, the first time you wash your project, you should not have other items in the washer.
Additional Techniques It's easy to add interest to your project. Click on the pictures of the samples below for details.

The magnificent shawl you saw at the top of this page was created with the "scrunch" method. Click on the picture to find out how.	The sample above was made using the "torn paper" method. For directions click on the picture above.	This shawl, also see at the top, uses the rectangular mask method of spraying. Click on the picture for directions.