The unveiling- Eco dye Day

The Unveiling Eco Dye Day

So I have soaked my fabrics, wrapped them with leaves and wild flowers and boiled them.
Today I will open them up and have a look.

This is cotton. I am not sure if I like it-maybe a little bland. I think maybe the wrapping could have been tighter. There is quite a lot of blank space. There are two small spots that look good-I think its the geranium leaves. Quite a nice purple.

This is the second piece of cotton. I am very happy with it. It has been coloured a bit more.

The velvet is good. I like the way it turned out. it has taken the marks of the leaves as well as the colour. I will let them dry a little bit. They were still damp. My photographer, Tenpin, asked what that smell was! I will wash them this afternoon and take them to our meeting tomorrow for show and tell. Then have to decide what to do with them.

 

Eco Dying Part Two

Eco Dying Part Two
I took the soaked fabrics and laid them out flat on the table. They are still wet from the long soak.

I laid out leaves and flowers that I had gathered. Then rolled the fabric around the tree limb and tied it off with string. I used oak leaves, geranium leaves and some native wild flowers.

The three bundles were placed in my large cooking pot( I don't use it for cooking food)

The pot boiled vigorously for two hours. Come back tomorrow for the grand unveiling!!

Eco Dying Part One

Hi , Karen here

This summer I have tried my hand at some eco dye projects. The results are at least interesting!!

I soaked three pieces of fabric, two cottons and the last piece of white velvet that I had saved for this occasion. I soaked them in rusty water that I had saved from our fire pit -so there is a little bit of charcoal in it too. I left the bucket outside and it stewed for more than a week. I was busy with other things!!

On the morning of Dye Day, our community lost a precious 300 year old white oak tree. I managed to salvage some leaves from the tree to use in my project.

My technical director chopped some limbs (from the tree, not the assistant) They are just the right size to wrap my fabric and then put into the pot for boiling! More tomorrow!!!