Waxing Eloquent

Well, maybe not eloquently, but I was busily waxing this weekend.  I spent several hours at fellow USDG member Robin's home, playing with soy wax and dyes.  Some I got done there, some I finished up at home.  

The last time I tried using soy wax, I remember having issues- like, it wouldn't soak into the fabric.  This time the wax behaved perfectly.  I'm guessing that I didn't have it hot enough the first time.  

I took some white Pimatex fabric, and some pieces that were already dyed.  The results told me that it really does matter what kind of fabric I use.  The smooth, tightly woven fabric (like Pimatex) seem to hold the wax better, which means less dye seeps under the line.  Since I was doing multiple dye baths on some pieces, that makes a difference.  So here's the fabric I ended up with--

The two on the right were done on yellow fabric, the one on the left started with white Pimatex.  I absolutely love that one.

The one in the upper left is on white Pimatex, the others started with yellow fabric.  I used three different potato mashers, a pastry cutter, and a small brush.  I did three different dye baths, then waxed after each, then I waxed the entire piece and put thickened dark blue dye on.  I probably crackled the wax a little too much, but I love this piece anyway.

What's not to love about all that texture?

The last piece is really different- I wanted to see what would happen if I just put brushstrokes of wax on the cloth, then paint different colors on.

I wasn't sure about this one at first, but it is growing on me.  I really like the movement I got with the brushstrokes.

I had more dye adventures this weekend, but they will wait for another post.  Time to wash the dye out of my hair!!