Sharpie Marker Dyeing, Part 3

These are the continuing adventures in Sharpie marker dyeing. (Sorry, Star Trek.) When we last saw our heroine she had dyed fabric swatches, stamens for a silk flower, and some additional ribbons.

After these adventures our heroine put away her markers for a while. Other projects caught her attention. Finally a project came up that was eligible for Sharpie marker dyeing. Our heroine had crocheted a purse (prototype) using white

yarn and clothesline. White is fine in many situations, but it can be a little boring. How to spice it up? Well, I already told you that it was dyeing for more color.

Our heroine looked through her markers to see what was available. She decided on 5 colors: yellow, orange, red, berry, and purple. Now, how should she put those colors on the bag? Taking each color in turn, Thread marked a spiral on the yarn between the layers of clothesline. Purple was first, from the first stitches on the bottom. Purple continued up a few rows on the side. The other colors followed.

A bag needs handles, but Thread had not prepared some already. At a different craft store she found some white cotton webbing. That would accept dye quite a bit better than the common polypropylene. She drew stripes of color along the length of the webbing.

It was now time to apply the (70%) alcohol. Remembering the mess from earlier episodes, Thread decided to use a dropper for more control. She had found the droppers at a big box craft store. Starting at the yellow on top, Thread carefully wet the whole bag. It was interesting to watch the colors bleed from the marked line, wicking through the crochet cotton and on into the clothesline.

It took some time for the bag to dry, even with the dryness of Arizona. When dry the purple had taken on a different color than it started with. It seems certainly is a lighter color, with more visible blotches of intensity than the other colors have. On the bottom, the purple is definitely different on the crochet yarn as opposed to the clothesline.

A friend told Thread that she should sell the result of this experiment. Thread decided that she would not be paid for her time – crochet can take a while. She is, however, considering making a pattern to sell in the future.

All in all, Thread considers this project to be a success.