For textile artists living in areas with snow, winter provides a novel vehicle for putting color on fabric. The top image shows the original piece of heavy silk organza, a/k/a gazaar, that was prepped, manipulated, and piled high with various colors of dye mixed into snow. As the snow melts, the dyes, often composed of many otherwise hidden colors, begin to “strike” the fibers at various rates. This reveals unexpected intensities and blending within the fractured patterns that emerge from the unbound cloth.

A new Tie-Dye themed Design Challenge at Spoonflower.com was the perfect motivation for digitizing this snow dyed silk and creating the pattern above. Click here to vote for your favorite design through March 31, 2020.