This is both my review of the Lone Daffodil Lisbon Pant sewing pattern and a showcase of some fun batik & dyeing I did on them too. This is a 100% upcycled project as well.
I started with a beige sheet that was left at my rental house by a former tenant. I had no idea the fabric content but surmised it was probably at least partly cotton. I use Procion cold water dye for batik and dyeing so it has to be at least part cotton for the dye to uptake.
The Lisbon Pant Sewing Pattern Review
Let’s start with the pants – The Lisbon Pant by the Lone Daffodil are VERY easy beginner level sewing pattern that makes wide wrap pants that are not open on the sides. They close with a button / buttonhole and then ties across the front. They can be worn on the hips or at the waist or higher. As you sew, try them on at your preferred waist wearing height and mark your hem from there.
And I’ll remind today’s ladies, please do not hem these too long or you will trip on the pants (see Zara pants tripping which is all over the internet).
The Batik Design
I intended to do the design showed in the book above, with a wooden spool (the hole covered with wood filler) but I couldn’t get / keep the wax hot enough – probably just a balance between “holy sh!t it’s on fire!” and what I usually set the wax boiler at (250 degrees). I’m told you need it hotter for thicker fabrics like this. I couldn’t get ANYTHING to work except the copper tjanting, which is a tool used for batik designing, and that’s probably because the metal reservoir kept the wax hot enough from the six inch transfer space between wax boiler and fabric. I will try the moon designs again on rayon which batiks fabulously, or even a lightweight Prepared for Dyeing (PFD) linen or PFD cotton.
For the dye, I use two heaping teaspoons of Procion “Raven” and about 1/2 tsp of Sapphire which was all I had left. I used 1/4 cup salt, which is much less ( you need non iodized salt and I had that but not in a great quantity). I used urea to thicken the dye mix a bit, and soda ash fixer in the dye water. I need to use up my dyes so whatever I have in my “stash” is what I”m dyeing with. I don’t know how long they last and some I’ve had for 20 years!
I batik usually in either a bucket (2 gal) or a big flat storage tub. But inevitably the fabric rises and balloons over the water, giving the dye a mottled texture. To really do vat dyeing well you have to keep stirring for 30 minutes before letting it sit, and honestly I might try to fashion something to keep the fabric down like a lighter piece of wood on top of it or something. I was only invested in this project in that the fabric was free, the pants were my first testing of them and the batik design didn’t go how I wanted it to (me drawing it on instead of the more abstract and arty version of the stamping.)
I’m wearing this with a moon and stars silk tee I got secondhand. A great coordinate!
The pants are a bit big, but no worries, they’re getting a second set of buttonholes so I can cinch them up a bit. That’s the beauty of this design and these pants, multiple holes = “pasta pants” (for when you have a big meal).
And I really should wear some dishwashing gloves, though the dye washes off / fades off hands in about 24-36 hours.
I batiked and dyed over one evening, the next morning, still in my yoga clothes, I rinsed the dye out. To get the wax out you use boiling hot water in a bucket ( pour over the batiked part) which gets most of it out. A hot water wash and two rinses using laundry soap gets the dye out. I often use a laundry soap that Dharma sells that prevents backstaining of the dye. Then I put them in the dryer and any residual wax heats itself out (IDK probably on my dryer inside?) and you should be sure to wash and dry separately (and continue to do so for several washes.) I usually wash these dark items with my blue towels and jeans.