A Little Rusty............


After spending some time at the metal scrap yard, I finally tried rust dyeing. I'm not sure which was more fun...scavenging through all the fun junk at the scrapyard, or seeing the results when I unwrapped the fabric from the rusty treasures! I soaked fabric in a mixture of 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water for ten minutes. I then wrapped the fabric around the rusty objects, covered it with plastic, and let it sit overnight.

Once unwrapped, I soaked the fabric in saltwater, rinsed, washed and ironed. Here are a few of the results! I'm very happy with some of the textures I got from this process.


So, I managed to bring an extra piece home from my scavenger hunt. This piece of rusty metal was laying in a heap, just calling my name. I thought it would make a great yard sculpture. It was quite an adventure getting it in my little Jeep, but I was determined. Warren just gave me that look........you know..........the "you are very strange" look. I had plans of framing it with copper tubing or re bar, but Warren.........the one who thought I was off my rocker........came up with framing it with 4 x 4 posts. For a cheap piece of rusted metal, I think it turned out pretty cool! I think my husband has quite the artistic eye!
I think I'll be going back to the scrap yard to find more treasures. Now, I want to learn how to weld.........

Comments

Beena said…
I love the way the fabric turned out! And the sculpture is unusual (in a good way)!
Very, very cool...fabric, sculpture...all of it!
Your sculpture casts wonderful shadows. The fabrics are interesting too.
Alaska Hamlins said…
That's awesome! Both the rusty fabric and the sculpture!
Deb Hardman said…
The yard art is GORGEOUS! It looks like you used a metal grate just like mine for the rusting. I love the effects of the rust dying. The color is right in my favorite color family. I did notice that the metal actually tends to cut my metallic threads when I try to machine quilt it. I may hand quilt the ones I'm working on right now.
Deb Hardman said…
PS You better come home soon! You may miss summer completely!
Tyson said…
I have to agree that both turned out spectacular!

Make sure that besides the welding machine, Warren also gets you a plasma cutter. An amazing tool that you would absolutely love! Anything you can draw or trace you can cut out of metal.

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