Indigo

I love indigo, the color, the process, the natural way of using it. Various artists and their indigo creations. Just beautiful.

Cooking colors

I just came back from a wonderful long weekend in Portland and Washington. I attended a great class at WildCraft Studio school called Kitchen Sink Dyes. Chelsea Heffner, the owner and teacher of this class is very knowledgable and kind. We had a wonderful walk in the forest to harvest Lupine, an amazing fresh and yummy lunch and a great time learning all we could about dyeing fabric and yarn with everyday herbs, spices, flowers and veggies. More details in the next post.

Barkcloth

Barkcloth is a versatile material that was once common in Asia, Africa, Indonesia, and the Pacific. Barkcloth comes primarily from trees of the Moraceae family. It is made by beating sodden strips of the fibrous inner bark of these trees into sheets, which are then finished into a variety of items. Many texts that mention "paper" clothing are actually referring to barkcloth. Painted barkcloths were originally clothing, to be worn and discarded. Many of the designs draw on tattooing (in New Guinea) or skin painting (in the Ituri rainforest of Central Africa). Today, what is commonly called 'barkcloth' is a soft, thick, slightly textured fabric, so named because it has a rough surface like that of tree bark. This barkcloth is usually made of densely woven cotton fibers. Historically, the fabric has been used in home furnishings, such as curtains, drapery, upholstery, and slipcovers. It is often associated with 1940s-through-1960s home fashions, particularly in tropical, abstract, "atomic" and "boomerang" prints, the last two themes being expressed by images of atoms with neutrons whirling, and by the boomerang shape which was very popular in mid-century cocktail tables and fabrics all-cotton rhino cloth or standard barkcloth. • One of my assignments is to reinvent a traditional design in the spirit of barkcloth from the 40's and 50's. I'm drawn to the earlier period of decorated backcloths, so simple and graphic.

3 colors

3 different colors from 3 different sources. The inside circles are true to the colors I got. ; Yellow/green first row is heat dyeing with pomegranate peels. I followed these instructions. ; Pink second row is ice flowers dyeing with morning glory flowers from my back slope. ; Brown third row is solar dyeing with Japanese green maple leaves from my garden. ; I pre mordant the fabrics in three different ways, soy, vinegar and salt. You can find more details here.

Color making

These are the first results of my new Color Making experiments. ; The first 4 pictures are solar dyeing, here is what I did: I put 2 red succulent flowers in a glass jar and poured boiling water in. The jar was left in the sun for 3 days. I added 1/2 tsp vinegar and the fabric stripes. The fabric was left in the jar for 3 days. I used tap filtered water, and all the fabric was pre-mordant with water and soy. I love the pinkish color. ; The fern was boiled with 1/2 tsp of vinegar, than simmered for 45 minutes. I removed the fern and added the fabric stripes to the water. I simmered the fabric for 45 minutes, and left it there to cool over night. I used tap filtered water and aluminum + magnesium pot. All the fabric was pre-mordant with water and soy. ; The next step is to check the PH of the water, and get some washing soda to enhance greens in dyes.

Solar patient

You need a lot of patients for dyeing. ; The red succulent flowers were put in the glass jar, in the sun for 3 days. I strained the water, put it back in the jar, and added 1/2 a tsp of vinegar. I mordant diff fabrics with soy and water for 2 days, let it dry, and added to the jar. I'll share the results of the dyed fabrics when ready. ; 2 new jars added to my solar dyeing experiment, avocado pit and green maple leaves. ; Thank you to India Flint for her wonderful book Eco Colour.

Solar dyeing

A few weeks ago I bought an inspiring dye book by India Flint. India is a dyer from Australia who uses natural plants and materials to get amazing results. ; Today I'm starting my first solar dyeing session. I used what I have in my garden, and believe me it's not much. I stuffed some glass jars with the plants listed below, and added boiling water. I'll let it sit in the sun until I like the color. Here are the plants I used: 1. Red flower from a succulent I found in the street a few years ago and replanted. 2. Black bamboo. 3. Kalanchoe thyrsiflora succulent red leaves. 4. Pink/silver grass that grows on our slope. 5. Ivy green leaves.