Category: Eco Prints

13 Feb

Wool Scarves Eco Printing

Amelia Hoskins / Eco Prints, Plant dye processes, Wool / / 0 Comments

THIS page an overview of wool dyeing and eco printing

Unusual and rarely seen Catalpa Bignoniodes leaves are interesting: for one thing they are huge, so give a good coverage. They are hard to get colour from in emersion dyeing, because although they will dye pink-crimson, it oxidises to silver on silk and pale green on wool, so when eco printing on WOOL process I've added iron (dabbed on) which gives a dulled aubergine.

Modifying 'before' and 'after'

Catalpa leaves were dipped in iron water prior to placing on wool BEFORE steaming bundle.  This helped to produce a colour; aubergine. Catalpa leaves were painted over in lemon juice AFTER steaming bundle. The latter result is encouraging, as there is a good deep pink. [This would be even stronger on Habotai. The wool is too fine loose weave for holding the strongest print].

It would be interesting to see what other leaves and plants stuff can be iron water treated BEFORE steaming, and lemon juice modified AFTER. I'm currently studying how to change colours of eco prints with the many and changeable effects of mordants and modifiers.

 

05 Nov

Crimson Vine Leaves Eco Prints Silk and Wool

Amelia Hoskins / Eco Prints, Plant dye processes, Wool / / 0 Comments

Catalpa Bignoniodes Tree - Crimson Vine type - Several experiments on Habotai silk and fine wool

The correct name for this vine tree was advised by head gardener at Overbeck Gardens, Salcombe, Devon during visit November 2024. They have a huge spread of it over wooden trellis. Large leaves turn red and deeper red/black in October/November.

Habotai (1):   Tests to add more leaf prints to previously dyed habotai silk samples. Crimson vine dye bath gave pink silk in 2023, then oxidized to silver!  This year testing red leaves with eco printing, rather than immersion dyeing, for better result of colour preservation.

Using Catalpa to enhance previously dyed silks: Steamed Red Catalpa leaves, Eucalyptus leaves, with sprinkled Amaranth flowers and Black Knight Scabious flower petals.

Silk folded up from bottom and over top layout - for a mirrored print result.  Leaves area sponged with urine as experiment to retain red pigment. (previously dyed and eco printed silk has already been alum mordanted, which may help new prints)  Bundle prepared for steaming.

Secondary additional bundle steam with Red leaves Catalpa Bignoniodes on Hab (1) areas without strong colour.

Crimson leaves Catalpa Bignoniodes on Habotai (2)

Another two previously dyed gold silks with failed eco prints to be enhanced.  Red leaves with some eucalyptus and coreopsis.  Two pieces of habotai silk 8 sandwiched.

Crimson leaves experiment - (no added urine sponging).  Fresh red Sumac leaves dipped in a solution before placed with silk: Bucket solution: (water with used alum + dollop of rusty nail iron water + dollop of urine).  Hoped to give a stronger tone to Sumac leaves, due to previous prints being pale.

SECONDARY ADDITIONAL bundle steam with red Catalpa Biognoniodes leaves on Hab. (2)

Extra Sumac leaves dipped in mordant liquid [alum water + rusty nail iron water + 2 dst sp urine].  Coreopsis Gazebo Red laced between leaves.

ADDITIONAL LEAF AND COREOPSIS STEAMING - Pre-dyed gold silk Hab. (3) test

Another gold dyed sample with secondary purple-lilac leaf prints and grey Sumac leaf prints needs MORE enhanced colour...  One Catalpa crimson leaf and several Coreopsis Gazebo Red added.  Clingfilm laid and rollered over folded silk.  Bundle tied.  Steam 20 mins. [Note: Gazebo Red stated to produce sage green; but produced purple after alum + water mordant sprinkling, combined with tannins already in the previous dye colour.] 

Crimson Catalpa leaves - Experiment on Fine Wool scarf (1). Fine wool previously dyed in comfrey.  Red leaves and small petals from Coreopsis Roulette (result violet-black).

RESULT - Red leaves turn purple on silk and wool after washing out.   Acceptable - as in 2023 these leaves made silk a similar deep pink, then oxidized to silver.  At least they produced a print.   Some leaves partly faded lilac prints which gives an interesting 'ghostly' effect. (to be tried without background dye).  The iron and possibly the urine mordanting helped to give a stronger tone.  Coreopsis Roulette (dark violet spot) prints are darker than expected, as dried flower packet states 'Olive Green'.

If silk looks a bit dry when folding into bundle, leafs are used to dab liquid over.  This aids ghostly effects where dampness is unevenly spread.  When cling film is wrapped around folded silk, air is squeezed out with rolling pin either end of folded bundle.  Folding lengths to a 4inch-6inch flat bundle, enables wrapping around stick, or swiss-rolling into itself, secured with string/piping cord.

2nd Steam with extra oak leaves (dipped in soya wax resist) - No iron modifyer.  Oak leaves as resist didn't show any difference. Steaming will have melted out the wax.  Bundle was placed in jar of red water made from soaking the Catalpa leaves several days. The wool appeared to dye red, but on washing out after 24 hours, no colour.  Wool was slightly duller, needed to change the bright yellow from 1st steam.

Crimson Catalpa leaves - Experiment on Fine Wool scarf (2)

Eco print steaming 1hr 30mins.  More leaves were positioned on scarf, close together, than previous scarf 1. Amaranthe was included in spaces between leaves, but no result seen apart from more blurred purple.

MODIFYING the eco printed wool, to change the darkness of the dull aubergine prints.  PINK by painting on lemon juice and GREEN by painting on bicarbonate of soda.

01 Oct

Black Knight Scabious

Amelia Hoskins / Eco Prints, Plant dye processes / / 0 Comments

Black Knight Scabious is a strong dye flower.  First test results were easy to obtain with steam bundle dyeing process.  Two silk pieces: one previously dyed with iron modified blackberry (lavender) and one previously tan dyed from leaves with small orange eucalyptus prints.

 

FIRST steam print with Black Knight Scabious flowers

Result of Scabious steaming is seen as strong deep violet bleeding of dye colour at one edge, which must have been an open part around an end of the stick.  Other flowers seem dry with barely a full print.  Silk is very dry, so got too hot in pan, inside a tight parcel.  Edge would have remained damp, hence the colour collected there.  Pattern print not at all covering whole area, so decision made to re-dye with similar distribution of flowers, together with another silk (previously dyed with blackberry modified with weak iron dip).

Stick wrap-around method chosen for 2nd attempt with two silks.  First parcel became too dry inside.  Additional silk is Habotai previously dyed with blackberry (but had iron dip modifier), so grey-lavender background.

20 minute steam in pan

RESULT!  A good evenly dyed print design

A good dye take up from the Scabious flowers, which had. been positioned over flat silk, similarly as first attempt; and with added sprinkling of individual Scabious tiny petals.  These can be used with other steam dyes as a 'spot sprinkling' background with other eco prints.

Scabious Black Knight dried flowers on ecru Shetland wool

Top sample          Dye pot (2b). GREEN:  Modifed with Bicarbonate of Soda.

Second sample   Dye pot (2a). Airforce BLUE:  Twice as many dried flowers boiled up several times in a non stick coated pan, and rested a day or two.  Wool added after reheating; left to soak around 3 days.

Third sample       Dye pot (1a):  GREY: First dye pot but flowers had been used in a bundle steam first. Not many flowers used, not boiled, flowers placed in boiled water soaked for 7 days.

Fourth sample    Dye pot (1b):  Had same process but boiled up again after in a dye pan.   (Possibly had tannin residue from a bundle dye)

 

 

21 Jul

Bundle Dyed Backgrounds

Amelia Hoskins / Eco Prints, Plant dye processes / / 0 Comments

Experimental reds steam bundle dyeing for background texture

1.  Red onions - red antirrhinum - red ivy dried - red ragged robin leaves - red new St. John Word bush leaves - purple marjoram dried flower heads sprinkled
2. Ferns added - made it browner

Making steaming parcel

Carefully folding silk over from edge and corners to enclose dye stuff.  Folding method: 'Side over', 'Corners over to centre', : repeatedly.

Otherwise spread only on half of fabric, to fold over easily.

Parcel preparation

Spraying with vinegar and using baking roller to flatten.

Experimental parcel other than rolling around a stick.

Ferns added

Although a few textured results were acceptable, I wanted to change the brown/white contrast.

Extra steaming with ferns produced browner overall dyed.   The brown fuzzy seeds on reverse of ferns I believe cause this.

The bundle can be flat, and not always tied around a stick.

A bit too brown for me...

One piece can be continually experimented on.  Maybe lemon juice will bleach lighter some of the background, as painted shapes?  Maybe blackberry, or woad blue, or logwood pigment dyes can be used as design shapes over the brown?

Adaptations to be continued...

Images copyright Amelia Jane Hoskins Please email for use permission.