This is my second test of dyeing with teabags and rusty bits – here the bits were gears and I tried it for a shorter time on both cotton fabric and a bit of old lace. This time there was mainly neutral grays and blacks – no browns like the first go.
Dyeing test.
This time I tied the bundles with some white hand spun wool and let that get dyed as well. Just a small amount but I knit it up and love the kitten soft color I got!
Been reading about eco dyeing and using found materials and thought I’d give it a go. Years ago I did a lot of natural dyeing of fleece for hand spinning but not on fabric and not just for the wonder of the results. I did a little bit about a year ago in a workshop by Elizabeth (Beth) McTear of Honest Alchemy but it was a large group and Beth had set up the dye pots etc for us.
Two—maybe three weeks ago I put strong tea, rusty nails and a scrap of cloth I found inside an old pot holder I was throwing out, in a glass jar and set it aside. Today I took it out.
Dyeing test.
Above is the result—and I love it. Haven’t been so excited about a bit of old cloth in a while. Gonna’ do more!
Attended a very fun workshop on Shibori this weekend lead by Elizabeth (Beth) McTear of Honest Alchemy. It was held at Moore College of Art and Design during my yearly reunion—they always have something interesting that is new to me!
We could make two hand dyed scarves and these are mine. I’ve hand dyed wool fibers for hand spinning and the spun yarns but never silk fabric and never using Shibori, a technique where the area not intended to accept the dye is bound tightly before being placed in the dye pot. This is an ancient way of working which can result (via the hands and minds of very experienced artisans) in many sophisticated results. These are my first two goes… Not such experienced hands and mind but still I’m happy with the results and have a glimpse of where this might go…
Beth and a couple of assistants and lots of patience, herded about 18 of us ex-art students through a very exciting afternoon!
Thank You, Beth!
first attempts
Took these quickly, in my back yard when suddenly I heard a gentle noise, grabbed the scarves and ran inside as the heavens opened up and rained like crazy. Sun out now! Will take more later in a more controlled environment to use as a jumping off point for my design work. Soo… more to come!
My back garden is to be the main subject of this journal. It is mostly a sample dye plant garden with a few herbs, some lettuce and tomatoes, a small deck area for our two blue chairs and a bird bath. The deck area is about 8′ X 8′ and can be moved each year to rotate our “crops”. I figured if we came home from work tired at the end of a long day, took a drink into the garden with our chairs and saw weeds we might pull some. It works—sort of!
This spring I have moved the Bedstraw to the other side of my bird bath to give my Madder plants more space. Both plants give a red dye. According to my books Madder likes compost, manure, lime and potash. It likes to be 18-20 inches apart well weeded and mulched.
I also weeded around my Wild Ginger and Bloodroot. The Bloodroot was just flowering and the flowers were opening as the day went along. I kept stopping to sketch and photograph them—one of the images appears at the top of this site. (I bought the Bloodroot and Madder several years ago from Well Sweep Herb Farm.)