How to Mordant Cotton Fabric with Aluminum Acetate for light and wash-fast colors in Eco Printing and Natural Dyeing
DIY Iron Mordant Recipe for Natural Dyeing and Eco Printing. Learn how to make an Iron and Copper Mordant for Plant Dyeing and Eco Dyeing.
Eco Printing or Eco Dyeing on Fabric. How to make Eco Prints with leaves on silk chiffon and cotton fabric with an iron modifier.
Find out which are the best plants for eco printing. FREE printable list of 30 leaves and flowers for eco printing.
DIY Iron Mordant Recipe for Natural Dyeing and Eco Printing. Learn how to make an Iron and Copper Mordant for Plant Dyeing and Eco Dyeing.
Eco Printing or Eco Dyeing on Fabric. How to make Eco Prints with leaves on silk chiffon and cotton fabric with an iron modifier.
[responsivevoice_button] Way back in 2016, when I had just begun selling clothes under the label Gumnut Magic, I had a lot of interest from other natural dyers about my eco-print technique. Back th…
DIY of Predyeing with madder root and print with botanicals to produce such unexpected beautiful results. Using leaves with high tannins give great results
Introductory notes: The search for hidden colours, forms and textures is for me the lure of eco dyeing and eco printing, and a form of art. Eco dyeing and eco printing are essentially direct contac…
I’ve just released my new ebook all about eco-printing so I thought this might be a good time to write a quick post about the leaf that started it all for me, eucalyptus! I first learned about eco-printing in my natural dyes and weaving class in college over ten years ago. I saw an example of eucalyptus leaves printed on silk and I was shocked to see they printed a beautiful orange. It took me many years and lots of twists and turns before I finally got a chance to try the method myself and when
It's over a year since I first wrote a post about using an iron blanket. I remember doing more bundle dye experiments when all the leaves changed colour in 2017 and I did get closer to the iron blanket effects I hoped for. A couple of weeks ago, noticing some of the oak leaves were already falling, I managed to find the pieces of cloth I printed last year, but really couldn't bring to mind quite how I had done it. Unfortunately, last autumn I had little headspace to spare and wasn't blogging. To save me forgetting again, today I'm writing a reference blog about how I have now retraced my steps and moved a bit further forward. Taking the steps in order, first scour some natural fabric by washing it with soda ash to take off any oils, waxes or stiffeners. Next, mordant wool and silk with alum, cotton and linen with aluminium acetate. Then dye it by simmering the fabric in a plant dye bath. This picture shows linen, silk and wool pieces, all dyed with Dyers Chamomile flowers. Now the iron blanket. Home made iron acetate solution, made by leaving rusty metal in a mixture of water and vinegar for weeks or months, is inevitably of variable and unknown concentration. I'd say that in practice, the results of using the contents of my rust filled jam jar suggest my homemade solution is usually pretty weak. For the purpose of investigation, I made up a measured solution of ferrous sulphate, pouring 100ml boiling water on 10g of the powder and stirring, so that I would know 10ml contained 1g of iron. Using a syringe, I drew up 20ml and added it to a washing up bowl half full of water. By eye, that 2g of ferrous sulphate gave the bowl a very pale orange colour. My blanket fabric was a fairly thick cotton, cut from an old curtain. It was soaked in the bowl of iron solution for several hours and squeezed out just before using it. My dyed fabric had been dried without rinsing, straight from the dye bath. I put a piece of linen (half the leg of some loose trousers) to soak in plain water and collected a selection of leaves from the garden, plus oak and sycamore from the trees down the road. I unrolled some baking parchment on the table, smoothed out the wet dyed linen on its surface, laid out the leaves, some face down and some face up, then placed the iron blanket over the top. All the layers, baking parchment, dyed linen, leaves and iron blanket, were rolled up around a section of plastic drainpipe, then bound firmly with string. The completed bundle was stood on a trivet inside a very large pot with water in the bottom, the lid was put on and the pot was heated to the boil before turning the gas down low to keep steaming the bundle for two hours. I left it overnight to cool and next day, unrolled it. Below is a photo of the dyed linen and the iron blanket, laid out side by side. Not a ravishing success, but much can be learned from looking at it. As expected, the leaves varied in their affinity for iron, which I believe may be due to the amount of tannin each species contains. Most had made blacker shapes where the underside of the leaves faced the iron blanket than where the underside of the leaf had faced the dyed cloth. This effect showed up even more clearly once the iron blanket had dried out. What happened on the dyed linen is less obvious, though much more important. I decided that the central oak leaf in this photo had worked best as a resist by being laid with its underside facing the iron blanket, as the yellow is brighter than the adjacent oak leaves which had been laid with their undersides facing the linen. I had rather hoped that where the iron blanket had been in direct contact with the linen with no leaf in between, the iron would have modified the chamomile dye to a warm green. As you can see, the yellow actually went more of a dark khaki. Unexpectedly, the Japanese Maple and the ginkgo leaves seem to have sucked the yellow dye out of the linen. I had read people recommending both of these types of leaves in the past and been disappointed that I couldn't get any dye or iron dip print from my trees. I am delighted to discover that the damn things actually work by 'exhausting' other dyes :) The hardy geranium aka cranesbill leaves had left beautiful, if subtle prints, full of detailed edges and veins. I grow several varieties, because they make lovely prints in contact dye bundles when dipped in iron. In spring, some types will print with their own yellow dye. Sorry, I don't know the names of the different kinds, but this is what the plants look like at the moment. Anyway, since they will soon die back when the cold nights come, I thought I would include cranesbill leaves in the next test piece, this time a good silk scarf. I laid the leaves on densely, hoping for pale shapes from the exhaust effect of maple and ginkgo leaves, fine patterns from the cranesbill and bold yellow resist shapes from the oak. Unrolling the first turn of the bundle looked great. Unrolling more turns revealed much darker silk and far less clarity of leaf prints. Time for a cup of tea and a fag and a careful think. I decided that the baking parchment wasn't preventing iron from the blanket soaking through to the layers rolled underneath and there was just too much iron everywhere. First modification of the technique was to reduce the amount of iron. For my next silk scarf I used an iron blanket cut from a thin, worn out cotton bed sheet. It was soaked in the same washing up bowl of iron solution, but wrung out firmly after soaking. I had read before about people using layers of clingfilm in their bundles, but never fancied the idea. Clingfilm isn't biodegradable or reusable and anyway, I thought it might melt during the steaming and weld itself onto the bundle. Funny how buggering up an expensive piece of silk has changed my attitude, I felt quite ready to give cling film a go. After steaming, the bundle looked as though it had been shrinkwrapped. Happily, the clingfilm peeled off with no trouble. It had confined the iron from the blanket, allowing it to work only on the single layer of silk against which the blanket was pressed. With less iron available from the thin cotton blanket, the background colour looked much less gloomy, though you can see deeper lines where the string had squeezed the dyed silk most tightly. Taking away that shroud of darkness made it much easier to examine the actual leaf impressions. The ginkgo had had the most powerful exhaust effect though I could now see that the sycamore had also reduced the strength of the chamomile dye on the linen. With the clingfilm there to keep all the dye localised under the leaf, for the first time in my experience, the Japanese maple had left its own pink dye and the purple smoke bush had added a blueish green. Thick oak and fern leaves had acted purely as resists, keeping the iron blanket off the silk but neither exhausting nor adding anything to the dyed linen. I am truly delighted to have made a good iron blanket printed silk scarf. With less iron in it, even the effects on the iron blanket looked more interesting. Comparing the baking paper roll against the clingfilm, I shall have to weigh concerns about their relative biodegradabilty against my preference for sharp results. Anyone got a great idea for recycling steamed clingfilm?
Hey creative mamas! Have you ever thought that it was possible to get your kids right into nature through a fun crafty activity? Eco print with natural dyes will do just that. It's totally safe,
What are the best plants for eco printing? Here is a free list of leaves and flowers that make great eco prints on paper and fabric.
Eco Printing or Eco Dyeing on Fabric. How to make Eco Prints with leaves on silk chiffon and cotton fabric with an iron modifier.
In this blog I want to show you the results of different mordants with different leaves.
Autumn bears beautiful gifts for those looking for seasonal colors. Today, I'm sharing a natural dyeing tutorial. To dye linen pants I collected oak leaves. Alternatives for making grey are oak galls, alder cones, acorns, or black tea. These dyes contain high concentrations of tannins, which can be modified with iron.
This article contains an overview of natural red dyes that can be used to dye both yarn and fabric. Red is a very powerful and strong color.
Using the amazing shapes found in nature and a new way of eco printing, capture intricate details. Resist Method of Eco Printing allows many possibilities
How to make your first Eco Print a success!
Eco printing with iron water for paper and fabric. DIY Tutorial which includes a FREE Printable list of best leaves and flowers to use.
Super easy way to start eco printing with paper. See amazing results without hardly any expenditure. Step by step tutorial
Dyeing with rusty things is such a satisfying part of natural and botanical dye, and a great way to extend the possibilities in your dye pot. I use it in a few different ways, and I wanted to share some of my outcomes with you, as well as share how to make rust water or how to do iron after dye.
Our friend Tatiana of Zuahaza is on the blog sharing a DIY natural avocado dye tutorial you can use for naturally dyed yarn and t-shirts!
There are not many people who would not want to create those amazing red and orange eucalyptus eco prints. They are so bold in their simplicity, and do not need anything else to embellish them.
My stash of rusted, tea-dyed, and naturally colored fiber is dangerously low, so I’m going to create rust- and naturally-dyed fabrics!
Super easy way to start eco printing with paper. See amazing results without hardly any expenditure. Step by step tutorial
See how various different Eco Printing methods affect the outcome. Understand what creates the mysterious results.
Learn about Eco Printing on Paper in this step by step tutorial. Discover how to create unique eco dyed papers using leaves and flowers
What fun things will you learn? Don’t you just love learning new techniques?? Get instant access to this complete course today for only $47 In my over-the-shoulder videos, I will show you STEP BY STEP . . . I’m convinced me! Sign me up! For a limited time, this course is on sale for only...
As Spring arrives, I am slowly running out of saved plant material to dye with from the summer and fall. As the snow was melting in Southern Ontario, all the pinecones that had fallen during the winter starting poking themselves out of the slush. I remembered I read, at some point that they were used as dye, so I col
Natural Dyeing Tutorial. Learn how to use red cabbage to obtain beautiful purples, greens and blues with organic cotton yarn.
Eco printing with iron water for paper and fabric. DIY Tutorial which includes a FREE Printable list of best leaves and flowers to use.
Can you believe that this is printed with just leaves!? Add a bit of rust (iron) and natures amazing leaves, prepare the paper. See my tips for Great Eco Prints on Paper.
Super easy way to start eco printing with paper. See amazing results without hardly any expenditure. Step by step tutorial
Eco Printing or Eco Dyeing on Fabric. How to make Eco Prints with leaves on silk chiffon and cotton fabric with an iron modifier.
Try this fun tutorial that shows you how to experiment with eco printing on paper giving you beautiful results from nature.
Discover which are the best mordants for eco printing on fabric. Free list of leaves and flowers to use in combination with mordants.
Lois Ericson shows you how to create uniquely colored and patterned fabrics with ordinary household bleach.
I’ve just released my new ebook all about eco-printing so I thought this might be a good time to write a quick post about the leaf that started it all for me, eucalyptus! I first learned about eco-printing in my natural dyes and weaving class in college over ten years ago. I saw an example of eucalyptus leaves printed on silk and I was shocked to see they printed a beautiful orange. It took me many years and lots of twists and turns before I finally got a chance to try the method myself and when
