Jessica Doyle

My name is Jessica Doyle, and I run a one-woman shop based in my home studio in Austin, TX. I hand-dye head wraps, sarongs, scarves, bracelets, and textile wall art using my favorite dye techniques: shibori, ice dyeing, and of course tie-dyeing. I fell in love with dyeing after I successfully dyed an old white dress coral for a wedding I was in, since I couldn't find a coral dress in the middle of the summer.

I'm inspired by a Japanese dyeing technique called shibori. It was used thousands of years ago to dye kimonos, and is based on carefully folding, wrapping, twisting, or stitching the fabric before dyeing. I also love ice dyeing, which involves placing ice on the fabric, sometimes carefully arranged and sometimes not, and then sprinkling the dye on top. It adds another layer of unpredictability and beauty as the ice melts and the dyes combine. I also love classic hippy-dippy tie-dye patterns. I'm also inspired by nature, DIY blogs, and the vibe of my city.

I love Dharma Trading and order almost all of my supplies from them. I even hope to make a journey to visit my Mecca one day in California! Products I use the most are fiber reactive procion dyes, bamboo rayon scarfs (for both my infinity scarfs and head wraps), rayon sarongs, and the hemp/cotton blend jersey knit fabric to make my bracelets. I get all my chemicals from Dharma Trading, including dye fixative, professional textile detergent, soda ash, urea, milsoft, and of course my face masks. I love to reuse the boxes I get from my big orders, as well as the plastic bags that the items are wrapped in to keep projects wet while letting the dye soak in.