Whether you're sewing fashions, costumes, or quilts, spinning with rovings, weaving or knitting with yarns, embellishing with ribbons, or creating another project, hand dyed fabrics and yarns add a special touch. 

Hand dyed fabrics and yarns have a lot in common with their commercial counterparts.  For example, wools can "felt up" in the agitation of a washing machine, and silks are damaged by bleach.  Any fabric or yarn, hand dyed or factory dyed, can run or fade, so all fabrics should be washed with like colors.  When you "prewash" a fabric or yarn prior to sewing or using it in your project, wash it by itself in case the color runs.  All fabric, hand dyed or not, should be prewashed before you sew it if you plan to be able to wash it after it's finished, because most fabrics shrink the first time they're washed.

YARN

Yarns, ribbons, anything with fringe, and similar items will get tangled if washed or dried by machine.  They should be hand washed and dried flat or line dried.  If you really need to use a dryer, put the item in a pillowcase and tie it closed.

SILK

Bleach damages silk. When washing silk use non bleaching detergent.  These words mean bleach: "brighteners and whiteners", "optic whitener", "non chlorine bleach", "color safe bleach".  When it comes to silk, there is no such thing as color safe bleach.  Sunlight also damages silk, so if you want to use silk for curtains, line them with another type of fabric.  In the wild, the silkworm's cocoon -- which is what silk is -- photodegrades (biodegrades in sunlight) and returns to the soil.  So silk is not a good choice for pavillions and other high sunlight applications.

CHOOSING A FABRIC FOR YOUR PATTERN

Most hand dyed fabric is made from 100% natural fiber, such as cotton, silk, linen, and hemp.  These fabrics have very little stretch.  That's good if you're making a quilt, but some clothing patterns call for stretch fabrics.  Check the pattern instructions to see if it can accomodate a natural fiber before you start sewing it.  Generally, a knit fabric such as jersey (T shirt material) has more stretch than a woven fabric.  The most stretch will be on a bias cut.  Also consider the weight of the fabric, and its "drapiness".  Some patterns require more drape than others.  Tailored designs often call for fairly stiff fabrics. 

LINING FABRIC

If you want your finished clothing item to be washable, always prewash your fabric and all linings, and choose linings with the same fiber.  For example, line cotton with cotton, and line silk with silk.  The reason that factory made silk garments usually have a "dry clean only tag" is because they are not prewashed and are lined with cheap polyester, so when they are washed the first time, the silk shrinks and the lining doesn't.  It's easy to avoid this problem by lining silk with silk and prewashing your fabrics before cutting and sewing them.

NATURAL DYES

Just like commercial dyes, natural dyes can run, so be sure to prewash separately.  In addition, natural dyes are more vulnerable to fading from modern detergents, so use non bleaching detergents on natural dyed fibers.  Some natural dyes are "fugitive", meaning they fade in sunlight.  Natural dyed fabrics are not a good choice for curtains, tents, awnings, or other high sunlight applications.  Even with these precautions, natural dyes will fade with repeated washing.  That's what happens to bluejeans, which are dyed with indigo, a natural plant dye.

For more info, see the Fabric Info Page of my eBay Store: http://www.stores.ebay.com/magicalrealistgallery There you'll find fabric care instructions and tips on Renaissance Faire costuming.