Little Details...

In the run up to my first Peasant Dress Shoot I had been attempting to source some suitable material for the sash around Gabby's waist. Photographs have shown it to be a very loose, open weave, like a sort of hessian sack cloth:

This was proving difficult, but with the bulk of the work done I did the shoot with a temporary sash made out of some blue linen I had lying around. But the search continued for an alternative. I had tried ordering some samples of some blue-coloured hessian fabric but was disappointed with both the colour and the texture. For a start, the only suitable blue was a dark navy which was far too bold, and the samples I received were stiff as card with no flex to them. As such I felt I would be far better off dyeing some old sacking myself.

Courtesy of ebay, I got hold of one half of a used postal sack:

This sack cloth was already way more pliant than the stuff I had tried before, and by the time I was done dyeing and washing it, I expected it would be even moreso.

To get the right shade of blue I ended up having to dye it twice. Dyeing is never an exact science, so when my first lot of Dylon 'Jeans Blue' came out a little too green, I topped it up with 'Oceanic Blue' to brighten it a tad. The end result was, I think, pretty bang on:

I am finding I am growing quite fond of dyeing my own materials for Gab. Not only is it easier to match colours this way but I'm also finding the unique blending of different colours gives the end result a unique not-off-the-peg feel and makes the material look for more natural and 'ancient' than if I had just bought a commercially dyed cloth. The finish is not quite even, not quite so 'perfect' as one would get in a shop.

The completion of the sash means I now have a complete kit for "Cradle of Hope", "Path Not Taken" and "The Titans" and another photo shoot beckons. So I'm thinking I'd quite like to make myself some lovely big 'Titans' scrolls to utilise for a shoot. And maybe do some of Gabby falling on her bum, because I'm a glutton for punishment and silly series 1 Gab is adorable in the extreme! I have already sourced wooden knobs and papyrus parchment paper for scroll-making purposes, so watch this space!