Tag: rosemary

28 Oct

Natural Dye Samples Autumn 2024

Amelia Hoskins / Plant dye processes / / 0 Comments

Autumn 2024 - some small silk samples with current plant stuffs.

Mullein leaves dyed Habotai silk

Dyestuff collected from allotment Autumn 2024:

Soak dyestuff 24 - 48 hrs.  Boil up, simmer for an hour.  Add silk pieces when hand hot and leave for 2-4 days, checking for strength of colour.  Heat up the slow cooker or pot each day to below boiling point, then leave silk to soak further.  Silk will dye in cool liquid.  Mullein took 4 days to reach golden. These samples were dyed with the dyestuff in the pots, which I don't normally do; to obtain ongoing release of pigment.

Extra samples tested with iron: either rusty nail 'iron water' or powder ferrous sulphate.  Colours can be mixed by adding any dye+iron water to any plant/bark dye bath.

This year the rosehip dye result was not very strong, (previously has been peach or salmon pink); but did enable a faux 'alkanet' colour with a little iron added.

A further soak in  rosehip with a good measure of iron water from dark rosemary+iron dye bath (which appeared black), produced a dull gold; the rosemary yellow being much stronger than the rosehip peach.

Blue-mauve originally dyed with Hesperanthe (lavender tone):  made stronger tone with additional 2 day soaking in discarded flowers of magenta Amaranthe. (from failed eco print)

30 Apr

Rosemary Simple and Iron

Amelia Hoskins / Plant dye processes / / 0 Comments

Rosemary Dyed Silk (Ahimsa)

Mustard yellow, fairly strong after overnight soaking in dye bath.

Dye bath was boiled up with rosemary leaves and flowers, and few twigs.   Simmered for an hour, then left overnight before using.

Rosemary water after boiling up and leaving overnight.

Rosemary Dye Bath with Iron

After dying Ahimsa silk yellow, iron was added to dyebath. About a tablespoon of ferrous sulphate powder and tablespoon of iron water (from rusty nails).  Wool previously pale yellow from first dye bath, turned dark blue green; then dried greyed olive tone.

For comparison

Left to Right:

Raspberry cane (soy wax resist white),

Rosemary simple, Rosemary + iron, (rosemary simple on silk is deeper mustard yellow).

Apple twigs (lemon bleached designs)

 

WOOL SCARF TULIPS (Rosemary and iron dyed above)

PAINTED with natural dyes and BLEACHED with LEMON JUICE

Fine wool scarf painted on and bleached.  Tulips bleached with lemon juice.  Dark leaves have soya milk painted on the shape area first; when dried, dark woad dye (from jar of original mix) is added.  Leaves without soya milk base (brown) show bleeding over wool.  Soya lines within tulip petals (second end) before painting dye over.

Experiment, unsteamed as yet.  Piece will be finished and left for weeks before steaming.  Wool is very open weave, fine, so colouring is experimental.  If the soya base under design shapes produces a good fixed colour, with a clear defining outline, after steaming, it will be very useful for painting designs on other wool lengths already dyed with natural dyes.

 

Images copyright Amelia Jane Hoskins Please email for use permission.