Every summer and winter I like to head to the cinema for entertaining movies where plants are the movie stars. Over the years we've watched an assortment of movies across genres in our quest for movie star plants (no matter how far-fetched the connection). For the past couple of years we've been working our way through the free documentaries on the Maiwa website.
This summer I decided to watch, Keeping a Dye Journal, a free lesson in the Maiwa Productions collection. (A login is required for access, so create a free account and then scroll down to the bottom of Free Lessons & Documentaries). Maiwa typically produces really great documentaries and tutorials, so I was expecting a similar treatment. Turns out, the video was only about two and a half minutes long. I contacted Maiwa to make sure content wasn't missing!
While waiting for a response, I rewatched the video several times and realized that quite a lot of information is conveyed and a lot of good examples are provided. Maiwa responded very quickly, and assured me that nothing was missing and that the purpose of the video is to inspire viewers to come up with the best system to serve their purposes and studio practices. This actually made sense.
I decided to keep this video as my summer "movie" even though it barely qualifies. I'm still recommending it as a jumping off point, because it shows quite a few good examples in its brief presentation and it inspired me to check the web for ways other dyers keep their dye journals. Some of the main recommendations include:
- Pick a format you like - physical notebook, digital records, or a combination.
- Record information about the plant or substance used to make the dye.
- Record details about the fiber or fabric, mordants, and weight of fabric % to dyestuff.
- Record the dyeing process used, including time, temperature, duration, and any modifiers.
- Attach samples of the dyed fabric or fiber, and photos.
Watch the video to see for yourself, and then check out these sources for other ideas (or find your own):
- Dye Records (https://www.etsy.com/listing/1314468259/printable-dye-record-natural-dye-journal) - RELMdyeSHOP on Etsy offers Printable Dye Record sheets for download.
- How to Create a Fabric Dye Journal (https://shannon-brinkley.com/blogs/shannon-brinkley-studio-1/how-to-create-a-dye-journal) - Shannon Brinkley of Scrappy Applique describes and shows how to create a dye journal.
- Natural Dye Journal (https://www.etsy.com/listing/1557467713/natural-dye-journal-worksheets-keep) - FiberArtsySite on Etsy offers Natural Dye Journal worksheets for download.
- Natural Dyeing: Keeping a Dye Journal (https://blog.fabrics-store.com/2020/07/16/natural-dyeing-keeping-a-dye-journal) - Kathryn Dave from The Thread shows several examples for record keeping.
- What Record Keeping Can Be! (https://maiwahandprints.blogspot.com/2020/11/what-record-keeping-can-be-maiwa-dye.html) - Maiwa offers a notebook for creating a dye journal.
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