After years of looking at dirty ottomans, I finally decided to give them a new look with natural dye. diy | natural dye | dye | dyed goods | furnitue upcycles | new look | living room | diy home decor | diy | diy dye decor | tie dye | diy decor | kitchen
Hammering: Natural Fabric Dye: This is a really cool fabric dyeing technique that I learned when I was younger. It's surprisingly simple: all you need is a hammer, some fabric, a flat surface, and some plants. Well, and something to fix the dye helps.
Steeped in history and romance pomegranates have long been cultivated for their nutritious and delicious juice. The flowers are bright red and so beautiful that some fruitless varieties are grown for ornamental value. I've witnessed the fruit just dropping to the ground, providing food for animals - which is crazy to me because they're packed with useful properties beyond food, they're also a tannin rich dye.
Learn how to naturally change the shade of your fabric with a tea-dye. It's easy, and anticipation over the results are part of the fun!
A simple way you can get started with dyeing fabric at home is by using an ingredient you likely already have - coffee. You can dye fabric using coffee with a few simple tools and common ingredients that are most likely already in your...
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?
[responsivevoice_button] The live round of the Iso Dye Club has come to an end, although new students are still welcome to join and will be able to work through the ecourse at their own pace. It ha…
We are obsessed with dyeing fabrics. Today we are delighted to partner with method in their #fearnomess campaign with a DIY Natural Fabric Dye tutorial.
Set on the grounds of a medieval monastery in Segovia, Spain, Abbatte is a weaving workshop and teaching center. All of its dyes are made from its gardens.
Blueberries aren't just delicious. They also have a unique and beautiful color. Learn how to make your own homemade organic blueberry dye.
DIY Natural dyeing. How to dye fabric with tea. Step by step tutorial for beginners will teach you how to dye fabric and wool using tea.
BY KATRINA RODABAUGH // A Verb for Keeping Warm is one of the loveliest fabric and yarn shops I’ve ever visited and yet it’s so much more than a supply store for San Francisco Bay Area fiber enthusiasts. This space also hosts community events, book launches, classes, fiber clubs, an outdoor dye studio, a full […]
I spent a good many days during the hot of January and into early February dyeing fabric. Using local colour (mostly) to creates a bundle of fabric that feels like Summer’s sherbets and sorbets. Gathering from my garden and surrounding landscape
Black beans suddenly got much more interesting
Lois Ericson shows you how to create uniquely colored and patterned fabrics with ordinary household bleach.
Keep things au naturale with this easy tutorial.
Unveil the answer to "Can You Dye Fabric With Coffee" and learn how to use this household staple to add a unique touch to your projects.
Black beans are such easy and affordable way to dye animal and plant based fibres naturally! Achieve gorgeous purple to lavender shade in 3 simple steps!
Bring seasonal decor onto your dinner table with this stunning yet simple DIY project. Using crochet doilies and plain napkins, this Easter craft is sure to get your guests talking.
Directions here.
Don't throw out that orange peel just yet! Follow these instructions to make natural dyes from basic grocery store ingredients.
Natural Dyeing Tutorial. Learn how to use red cabbage to obtain beautiful purples, greens and blues with organic cotton yarn.
After years of looking at dirty ottomans, I finally decided to give them a new look with natural dye. diy | natural dye | dye | dyed goods | furnitue upcycles | new look | living room | diy home decor | diy | diy dye decor | tie dye | diy decor | kitchen
4 Natural Dyes you can use without the need of a mordant.Most natural dyes really need a good mordanting, either aluminium based mordants, copper, ferrous sulfate or a tanning using a tannin rich plant material. Mordanting is important to improve the light- and was fastness of your textiles and it intensifies the colour outcome on your fabric.Some natural dyes have enough tannin to be light- and wash fast without the assistance of alum, or iron. These are called substantive dyes. I have written
We are sharing some of our favorite DIY projects from the past year here on Alice & Lois. We rounded up our reader favorites and more!
We're cooking up a storm with Le Creuset's newest colors! Come learn how to make dyes in every shade of the rainbow using natural ingredients!
Hello sweet friends how is your week so far? With the kiddies being off yesterday,
I love the look of watercolor washes, the ways the colors blend together and the way that you can use a lot of different colors to create a unified look. This watercolor curtains techique was just the ticket!
These beautiful botanically dyed scarves and textiles by Soil to Studio are inspired by traditional Indian crafts. via wallflower
Learn how to use your food waste of avocado skins and pits to make a natural dye of beautiful pink shades!
seems to be a quarantine rite of passage to tie-dye and you know i’m all about trying to stay cool lol. we’ve actually been tie dying for years (we even almost started a side biz sellin…
Black beans are such easy and affordable way to dye animal and plant based fibres naturally! Achieve gorgeous purple to lavender shade in 3 simple steps!
Turn plain white cloth napkins into a beautiful artpiece with this DIY Ice Dye Cloth Napkin tutorial, using powdered fabric dye and ice!
Making fabrics of different colors has become easier now. Believe me, this natural dyeing technique is so addictive and you will never know what color you are going to get each time you try. Dyeing…
I finally finished an actual dye! I'm super happy with how it turned out, and plan on doing some cabbage dyeing after work today, with red cabbage, and then some baking soda... Anyways, this was so crazy easy, and looks pretty amazing. Seriously, I think I've spent more time watering my pathetic garden this week than dealing with this, that's how little time it takes. Here's what I did, and hopefully it works for you! 1) Applied an alum mordant ahead of time. Maybe I'll actually outline that separately, because there was a bunch of ratios involved, and I think it would be helpful to post, because a lot of the resources I found were incomplete. 2) Bought about a cup and a half of black beans, added water and let them soak overnight (this was for about 150g of cotton fabric. I was very inexact with those ratios, but it seemed to turn out ok!) 3) In the morning, I strained the bean water into a second bucket (read: old IKEA trash bin) and added my fabric. I added more water to the beans. 4) I did the same thing that evening, adding the bean water into the fabric bucket and adding clean water to the beans. 5) Repeat step 3 & 4 the next day 6) The next morning (so the fabric had been soaking for 48 hours), I removed the fabric, rinsed it well, and hung it to dry. That's it! So: soak beans, add new bean water to fabric every 12 hours for a total of 2 days soaking time. I assume if you used more beans, or left the fabric longer you might get more saturated shades. I took one piece out the after 36 hours soaking to see what would happen, and it is slightly lighter. Hope that helps someone with their dyeing!
Learn how to make this super easy beachy DIY ice dye throw blanket with Procion dyes. It's a little beachy home decor meets boho style.
Update your bedroom with this DIY Shibori Dyed Duvet Cover. Simplified dyeing method; without the big mess or vats of blue indigo dye. Easy designer results
A new blogpost from Nienke : My calculations of 'how much dye is needed for this piece of fabric' were a bit confusing, at least to some o...
Mordants used in natural dyeing. Defining mordant such as Allum, Copper, Tin, Iron and Chrome. Protein and cellulose fibers
1. Collect your avocado stones and rinse them thoroughly under the tap to wash off any green fleshy bits. I store my stones in the freezer as it keeps them nice and fresh, a fresher plant makes a more vibrant dye!
