Tag: bundle dye

04 Sep

Bougainvillea Test Bundle

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

 Test bundle steam with bougainvillea petals, antirrhinums, and others.

Interesting result with orange from bougainvillea.  Navy from antirrhinums.  Probably streamed too long, causing dulling and blurring.

Folded carefully into strip then wrapped around stick and steamed on trivet.  Closed pan.  Clingfilm barrier helps highlight single petals, with out over bleeding.  No note made of time steamed.  Possibly 1hr.

Steamed result

Immediately notice bougainvillea created dayglo orange.  Dahlia leaves create pale green.  Lower part of purple marjoram flowers only brown, with too much yellow; so soaked piece in bowl with rusty nail water (iron) and raspberry juice to dull off.

23 Aug

Experiments silk bundle dyes

Amelia Hoskins / Plant dye processes / / 0 Comments

4 BUNDLE DYE SESSIONS overlaying different plant material

The mystery of natural plant dyes is intriguing to experiment with.  Its fun to try many plants to see what happens.  Even white rose petals can produce some shape outline.  Images of multiple  steaming into Ahimsa silk which is thicker than Habotai, like cotton. (peace silk where the silkworm is not boiled).

Flowers arranged on Ahimsa silk:   Mallow - Linaria lilac - Gladioli purple - Bronze Fennel

Parcel covered with clingfilm for steaming. Foil covered, wrapped around large rose tree root which rests over steam pan.  I vary processes: open steaming 2-3 hrs or closed lid in a trivet for an 1.5hr

Linaria was disappointingly brown, as had previously dyed blue on golden Habotai. Possibly a light vinegar spray caused browning.

[One piece mordanted in alum powder; one piece in soya milk.  Soya produced nothing so subsequently washed and soaked in alum for Sessions 2-4]

SESSION 2:  More plant material

Dahlia leaves - Mallow dried and fresh - sprinkled Linaria - Woad seeds - Geranium petals - Gladioli purpurea - 3 Antirrhinums, -1 Nasturtium - white rose petals - 2 Queen Anne's lace - Bronze fennel

Two silk layers [previously mordanted with alum] were sprayed with white vinegar before folding into a parcel. Sometimes I roll fabric up, sometimes I fold; all experimental.  Parcel wrapped tightly around the steaming stick.

Washed dried mediocre result

Washed dried result

Antirrhinums worked the best, and probably too strong a vinegar spray turned them brown, as they have come out violet before.  Gladioli DOES print, if feintly.  All the material left some mark: even the woad seeds were quite dark. Dahlia leaves were surprisingly pure green, not browned ! and well defined: worth pursuing again with an iron modifier.

Small piece of Habotai silk added in the sandwich, to test on thinner silk.

The bronze fennel leaf is promising, as a print or all over texture background: Brown on alum mordanted Ahimsa silk.  On Habotai mordanted silk - turned bright green AFTER washing with soda ash. Useful as an all over landscape texture.

Note:  Fennel may make a good green dye bath with soda ash.

Fennel print comparison Ahimsa or Habotai

SESSION 3:  More plant material overlay experiment

Mallow - Woad Seeds - Bougainvillea - Himalayan Honeysuckle Leycesteria Formosa

Plant material placed over ahimsa pieces

Cling film over both pieces enclosing plants

Rolling up two silks with clingfilm

Ahimsa roll tied up losley in trivet

Variations of steam processes to see if any way works better.  Parcel wrapped in aluminium foil OR clingfilm -

Wrapped, tied on stick in open pan OR tied in a round with steamer lid on.  Silk has previously been burnt slightly when using foil, so still experimenting.

Ahimsa silks after steaming, washed, pressed:  Both pieces are identical.  Pieces will eventually be used in a garment, but not colourful enough at this stage, only interesting as layer on layer experiment.  Identifying multiple colour marks from photo of plant placements.  New blue-violet effects at top (possible from woad seeds); orangey lower blotches from crimson Himalayan honeysuckle.  Bougainvillea show as identifiable triangular grey-brown shapes; so worth pursuing again on pure white, and modify with iron.  Dahlia green prints faded a bit this time.

SESSION 4:  To get some colour!

Hawthorne leaves - Privet - Honeysuckle crimson sepals - White Rose petals - Blackberries.

Blackberries were placed on the rose petals.  Second Ahimsa piece laid over.  Then pastry roller used to squash the dye out.  Due to strength of colour, it could have done several pieces at once.   Rolling out in pattern directions is also an idea, with small rollers, or pre folding fabric to form geometric mirroring.  Much purple dye lost to the backing cloth.

Sponge dabbing spasmodically of water, from woad seed soaking, with added sprinkling of iron sulphate.

Blackberry stains between two Ahimsa silks: sponged with iron water

Rolled with clingfilm tied with twine

Rolled parcel to coil, tie and suspend over trivet in steaming pan. Coil sits on two pieces of Fuscia branch, to prevent metal heat stains. Branches were scraped of bark which was added to the plant material above.

Rolled coiled parcel suspended in trivet in pan

Unrolling silks after steaming

Unrolled steamed silks extensive blackberry dyed

Two Ahimsa silk pieces. Identical dried results with purple where iron water sponged.

Two Ahimsa silk pieces, upside down to each other.  To break up the iron dulled areas, and add interest, circle designs brush drawn-over with lemon juice show discharged LIGHT effect through 'greyed' (iron) background. Lemon brightens blackberry-pink and discharges greyed background to cream.  Silks were previously dyed a light golden colour, so the iron may have interacted with that too.

Close up of one piece with lemon juice discharged circles

Embroidery Resolution

To give some form to the blackberry dyed blotches; triskele design shapes were painted in lemon juice to embroider over.  Abstracted rose petal shapes embroidered over colours.  Overall effect is 'antique'.  This will work with a kimono lining already in stock; with pink colours similar.  Enough for batwing sleeves.  Purple silk can be added, along with other stock prints with pinks.  With the two pieces of ahimsa, enough for each side.  Useful to dye two pieces together if garment making.

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...

08 Jul

Purple Bundle dye double silks

Amelia Hoskins / Plant dye processes / / 0 Comments

Cranesbill - Linaria - Vetch

Experimental bundle dye to see what 'takes'.   Foraged purple flowers.  Linaria flowers were almost seasonally finished; so tried purple vetch also, still massing into flower.

Habotai light gold silk was pre-soaked in Alum mordant.  Hawthorne dyed thicker Ahimsa silk was pre-soaked in 10mls of red acid dye, (used for silk painting) to change the gold slightly.   Both silks to be steamed together.

Flowers arranged on Ahimsa and Habotai covering

Flowers between two silks before folding in three

Two types of silk: Habotai light, Ahimsa darker

Dark gold Ahimsa as 'blanket' around Habotai silk sandwiched.  Silk 'sandwich' was folded over itself into thirds, before winding around a thick stick.  Tightly tied with string, but uncovered, before steaming over an open saucepan.

While folding over, area was sprinkled with vinegar/water weak mix.  (too strong vinegar can causer yellow-browning).  Queen Anne's lace was sponged with rust water.

Silks rolled around branch

Two silks wrapped around branch with string

Wrapped bundle over steam pan

Steaming pot

Improvised steaming stick; rose tree root rests across pan.  Sits, or can be tied on.  Length enables handles to turn around.  Bundle was steamed for 5 hours simmered, turning part time, then left in position overnight and opened after 24hrs.

This method, with a 'blanket silk layer' has given cleaner prints than other methods with lid down and long steaming.  Conclusion: open dye pan avoids bleeding of flower colour which happens during closed steams. [or do shorter steams].

STEAMING RESULTS

Linaria (semi wild) produces a very good dark blue, in places 'Prussian' blue shining turquoise, in blurred shapes from the tops of Linaria flowers.  Speckles can be seen where I broke and scattered linaria flower heads, giving dark blue-black dots.  Shapes created by blue dye are in places mirrored due to the folding of the Habotai silk into three, together with a 'blanket' of Ahimsa silk.

Mirror prints appear on darker gold Ahimza silk, but feinter.  (Ahimsa was not soaked in Alum, but was briefly soaked in a weak magenta acid dye.  (A tip from another dyer that a pre soak in an acid dye will increase density of floral 'prints'; especially if iron modifier used).  

Red clover also made purple prints of the small tiny petals.  [They may have shown more purple dots if they had been flattened out first.  These tiny petals could have been sprinkled over].   No evidence of purple vetch giving a dye result, nor blue cranesbill.

Queen Anne's lace produced a good yellow, though just blurred areas, where they were placed in centre of silk scarf lengths. They were sponged with rusty-nail 'iron' water modifying mixture.

22 May

Bundle Dyeing Seeds and Flowers Workshop

Amelia Hoskins / Dye Workshop / / 0 Comments

Bundle dyed silk samples were created at Flora's Bundle Dye Workshop in Forde Abbey Gardens

Bundle Dyed Silk Samples

Silk and cottons are covered in seeds, petals and powdered roots; then sprayed with vinegar, then folded up into angular folds, before tying up into stringed bundles.  Bundles are hung over the side of a large boiling pot of water.

Bright pigment result from steaming seeds (such as Hopi sunflower), petals (such as dahlia) and dried root (such as madder or logwood).

Drying out unwrapped silk bundles

Authors Samples –  I chose mostly pink and lilac dyestuffs which I tried to arrange in circular patterns, but this process is completely unpredictable.  Next time it would be interesting to make dyestuff arrangements in circular tied bundles or with elastic, similar to tie dye techniques, form snowflake type designs.

Images copyright Amelia Jane Hoskins Please email for use permission.