"Brendan" writes:
>Yes it's the newbie trying to be cheap question again,
>I found that fabricland in Toronto stock raw cotton
>muslin in 3mx25m rolls ( about 3.3 yards x27 yards or
>so ) and it's cheap to! you can buy it per meter but
>it is unwashed. They don't sell large bottles of dye
>tho does anyone know other suppliers of dyes to make backdrops?
My wife does a lot of sewing, so I get steeped in the unwashed-fabric
handling stuff all the time. The first time you wash the fabric, expect it
to shrink -- the cheaper the fabric, typically the more it will shrink --
and to twist (i.e. uneven shrinkage) and for any unsewn edge to ravel
(probably not much of a concern).
I think craft stores sell a lot of the fabric dying stuff these days, so
you might try there. As mentioned, RIT dye is the common brand. If you
want a pattern, you can also paint on it -- I'm told acrylic paints won't
wash off and don't require heat setting (although I think I'd heat set it
anyway).
Lastly, check the color of the muslin. There's bleached (i.e. white) and
unbleached (light tan and cheaper than the bleached kind) and various
weights (thinner being more sheer and cheaper). For a background, I'd think
you'd want bleached muslin as you can then make it any color with
appropriate lighting and probably even the thinnest will suffice.
Let us all know how this works out. 3m wide muslin isn't common, but it
isn't exactly uncommon either. What you learn might help a bunch of others
get a studio started.
hope that helps,
patbob ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
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