Print and dye details
A bright blue shift dress made from a synthetic linen look-a-like fabric. It does not crease when crushed by hand but has the same texture as a course linen fabric but a smoother draping handle feel than natural linen fabric would have.
The selvedge is tightly woven and is very similar in construction to the main body of the fabric, this allows for a maximum amount of the fabric area to be used in the garment construction.
It is made up of a 9 colour print which has almost certainly been applied by silkscreen.
The background turquoise blue colour has also been applied via silkscreen as the colour has not fully penetrated the back of the fabric which it would do if the base fabric had been dyed before printing. There are also some white areas of design which is the base fabric colour allowed for as part of the design.
Apart from the black colour print, the rest of the dyes used have had a 60/70% penetration of dyestuff from the front of the fabric through to the black.
The black colour is generally sitting more on the surface of the fabric, this could be down to the chemical make up of the dye itself, they have achieved a really dense black colour which is often quite hard to do. Or a reaction between the black dye and the other colours of dye that it is sitting on top of, not allowing full penetration and give a slight bled look to the image of the black colour.
Colours used, blue, 2 yellows, 2 greens, 2 pinks, red, black.
Further Reading:
Kendall, T The Fabric and Yarn Dyers Handbook, Collins and Brown, ISBN 1-85585-879-7
Kinnersly-Taylor, J Dyeing and Screen Printing on Fabric, A & C Black, London ISBN 0-7136-5180-6
