Textile News 23

Eco Dyeing 

On Tuesday Denise and Sandra did some Eco dyeing using the steaming method.

The first thing was to soak the A6 watercolor paper for a minimum of one hour in the alum solution which was to act as the mordant.

Then they collected fresh leaves and a few flowers from their gardens. Before the leaves were placed on the damp paper they were either pressed onto a solution of copper sulfate or ferrous sulfate.

Then a piece of dyed lace or hessian could be put on the pile to add background colour if wanted.

Then a piece of felt to improve contact of the leaf with the paper and finally a piece of plastic.

They made 7 sandwiches as above and then put thick card either end and secured with bulldog clips.

The parcels were then placed in a steamer and boiled for 2 hours keeping the steam trapped by an old towel under the lid.

Sandra and Denise said the best bit was opening the parcels after 2 hours and pealing off the soggy leaves to reveal interesting prints. 

The paper was rinsed with water and then left to dry.

 

Sandra has started to use some of the prints in her sketchbook.

Sandra  and Denise were pleased with their results and are now planning the next stage  .Denise is going to explore more red leaves as they seem to have a lot of colour and Sandra is going to try printing onto cotton with a view to making an embroidery.

Thank you Denise and Sandra and we are interested to see what happens next!

 

 Stitching on Orkney

Joanna has been visiting Orkney and while there she has stitched this small kit. It is very pretty and delicate.

Thank you Joanna and I am glad you are enjoying your trip.