Hello Friends,
A couple of people have asked about the process I use to create my leaf print silk scarves, so I thought I’d share that with you today. It’s interesting because it’s a natural method that extracts color from the leaves. No inks, dyes or paints are used — just the colors from the leaves themselves.
The first step is collecting leaves. I only use fallen leaves that the trees no longer need. Not all leaves print well, and it takes some experimentation to find out which leaves will work. Generally I find that trees with deciduous leaves print well, but other leaves can also be good. Shown below are Liquidambar and London Plane leaves.
I flatten the leaves under heavy books for a day or two, then I place them on top of a damp silk scarf. Underneath the scarf is a piece of parchment paper, and below that is a piece of pima cotton. This helps prevent bleed through between the rolled up layers.
I place a seond damp scarf on top of the leaves along with another piece of parchment paper, and roll the scarves onto a stainless steel rolling pin.
The bundle is secured tightly with string, and the scarves are steamed for two hours over boiling water in a commercial roasting pan with the lid on.
I let the bundles cool overnight, and unwrap them the next day. Here’s how they look coming out of the steamer.
Each scarf is then hand washed and ironed. Here are some of the scarves I have available on my website this year.
London Plane leaves
Iron Bark Eucalyptus leaves
Flowering Plum leaves
Are you ready to try it out yourself? It’s a lot of fun to see what the leaves will do, and each scarf is different. I never know quite what to expect.
If you’re not the DIY type, you can purchase leaf print silk scarves in two different sizes from my website.
Are you making holiday gifts this year? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts. You can share them with us in the comments section below.
With love and appreciation,
Cassandra
These look luscious and the process is much more straightforward than I expected. Thank you!
Hi Cathy! Glad you got something out of it. Are you thinking of giving it a try? Let me know how it works out if you do.
Hi Cassandra, It was through your tuition of eco prints that I first heard of you. Love your processes…painting too…Uniquely You. I appreciate you sharing, tho I can’t always respond…I will continue to appreciate your newsletters. However am having Cancer treatment over the next 12 months so may not keep up with everyone. I’m grateful for your inspiration…maybe I’ll get someone to make me a silk scarf for Christmas…if I loose my hair….I have a wig and two scarves purchased that will suit. Thank you for your inspirational posts…gratefully! Liz K Australia.
Hi Liz. I’m so sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis. Sending you love, light and healing energy. May the process be swift, and may you go through it with ease and grace. All my love, and I’ll be thinking of you.
Hi Cassandra
I too am about to embark on some silk leaf printing. May I ask a couple of questions please? Do you pre-treat the silk at all before printing with leaves and can you tell me which leaves work best. I don’t know where you live, but I am in the U.K. and it is VERY COLD at the moment. Your scarves look beautiful – I have done leaf printing on paper but would like to move forward using silk. Many thanks – you are an inspiration
Hi Linda. Good to hear from you. I soak my silk scarves first in a diluted white vinegar solution — just a splash of vinegar to several quarts of water. Sometimes I use iron vinegar or copper vinegar — a jug of vinegar with iron nails or a piece of copper pipe that has been allowed to sit and oxidize. Just a splash of one of those in place of the white vinegar for soaking. Iron darkens the colors, and copper brightens and gives them a greenish hue.
As for leaves that work best, I’m in California, and I’m pretty sure the leaves here are different from the leaves you have there! Leaves from deciduous trees often work well. I use eucalyptus, ironwood, sycamore, plane tree, maple, flowering plum, ash. Do you have any of those where you are?
damp cloth that you have used is simply damped in water or some mordant?
Good question, Kiran! I usually soak the scarves in water with a little added white vinegar. Sometimes I use a little iron or copper, that are made by putting iron nails or a piece of copper pipe in white vinegar, and letting it sit a long time.
What is the best time of the year to harvest the leaves? Do you get different results with young spring leaves than summer mature leaves or the colored leaves in autumn? Do any of these times just not produce a result on silk? Thanks.
Hi Fran. Good question. Yes, sometimes spring leaves do produce a different result than mature leaves or autumn laves. It depends on the plant. It seems to me that I get more color and better results with fallen autumn leaves, but your results may vary! Everyone has their own preferences. Try them all and see which works best for you.
There are many leaves that don’t produce any color at all on silk, but for the ones that do, the three types of leaves all seem to produce some color. Just not the same color.
Thanks Cassandra. I plan to try this sometime soon. Love the simplicity of the process. Do you do anything after the scarf is steamed to fix the color? I have signed up for your newsletter and am looking forward to getting it.
No, I don’t do anything after the scarves are steamed to set the color. At that point, the color is permanent. The only thing I do is to wash them by hand in a mild soap.
Hi Cassandra!
Thank you for sharing your process. I tried it and the result is nice! Although somehow the parchment paper left a mark on the silk. I can see a tinted line from the paper. Do you have any idea why that may occur? Also, because silk is super delicate, I noticed that I always end up having some creases while wrapping around the rolling pin and it affects the printing. Any tips on how to roll it very tightly to avoid the creasing?
Many thanks!
Hi Wejdan. I also get creases on the silk from the rolling up process. I guess the only way to avoid that is being super careful when you roll it up. Go slowly and check it every inch of the way. I personally don’t have the patience for that, and I see the creases as part of the process.
I’m not sure about the tinted line from the paper. Is it where the paper ended? Did color from the leaves maybe collect there?