I’ve felt inspired to do some natural dyeing and weaving lately. It’s good to mix things up. It keeps me interested and excited about my work.
I have a pot of eucalyptus bark simmering in the studio. It gives a beautiful reddish-brown color, and smells great.
Last week I wove this scarf from soft cotton yarns that I dyed with plants.
Here’s a close-up of the yarns and the weave. I like that it’s not perfect. It has a wabi sabi handmade look about it that appeals to me.
Some of the plants used to dye these colors were pomegranate rind, madder, red hibiscus flowers, brown onion skins and calendula flowers.
Ooooooh I love that, the colors, the weave! Delicious!
Thanks, Claudia! Thinking about taking up weaving again?!!
Cassandra, I was blown away by your eco prints with leaves. I tried my first today and was overjoyed. I like you eco printed fabrics also, but you could go much further. Even with cellulose fabrics by using different mordants alone or in combination you can get some great prints. If you'd like, check out my blog at http://www.dipandstain.blogspot.com
I try to set no limits before I try something, and I am thrilled with my results. I posted my first prints on paper today. Thanks for the inspiration.
Dip and Stain, I LOVE your ecoprints on paper! They're gorgeous. It's so much fun, isn't it? Your shibori and rust-dyed prints are fabulous as well.
I usually avoid powdered mordants, which is why my prints on cellulose fibers aren't all that great. The ones layered next to the cardboard always turn out the best, but then when I tried a whole stack of fabric layered with cardboard, they didn't turn out well. I need to do more experimentation.
I know that cardboard is highly alkaline, so I tried soda ash, and those weren't so great, either. Soy milk is better, but the prints are nowhere near as nice as the prints on paper.
Thanks for sharing your work with me! I'll be following your blog.