I tried "Sunprinting" on Fabric -- DIY CYANOTYPE

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 <3

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.

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.

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

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. 👍🏻

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

How are your messy clothes prettier than my regular clothes? 🤣 You're adorable and I love all of your fun little experiments!

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.

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...

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!

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!

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

On the tank top, the darker line actually gives it the illusion of a waistline. It is actually very flattering.