Dye Pot News
I'm an eco-dye girl and it's been YEARS since I've put anything into the dye pot. But a very long winter's day put me into a purging mood and I struck gold.
I found bags of frozen flowers in my freezer!
Purging came to a quick end as I ran up to my studio, cut a length of PFD cotton fabric (mental note: order more white PFD cotton fabric) and wiped the cobwebs off my dye pot. I didn't bother with the dust. The fabric went in, and was sorta kinda covered in water.
Violá -- a pot ready to make some magic.
I decided not to worry too much about the crud inside the pot. I figured it might make for interesting colors, add character to the final product ... or not. Anyway, I dumped in all the marigolds. Iwound stirred wrestled gathered some of the fabric around the flower heads, just in case that might lead to some extra flower/fabric contact.
After an hour of simmering, the cloth looked like this:
Meh.
Eco-dyeing's not an exact science, but I was really hoping for more pizazz. So I double-checked my book, A Garden to Dye For , and yep, I could add some baking soda as a modifier.
Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!
I'm going to let the whole brew steep overnight. I'll let you know what it looks like after it's dried, and then again after it's rinsed. Fingers crossed that most of the color stays put.
I found bags of frozen flowers in my freezer!
Purging came to a quick end as I ran up to my studio, cut a length of PFD cotton fabric (mental note: order more white PFD cotton fabric) and wiped the cobwebs off my dye pot. I didn't bother with the dust. The fabric went in, and was sorta kinda covered in water.
Violá -- a pot ready to make some magic.
I decided not to worry too much about the crud inside the pot. I figured it might make for interesting colors, add character to the final product ... or not. Anyway, I dumped in all the marigolds. I
After an hour of simmering, the cloth looked like this:
Meh.
Eco-dyeing's not an exact science, but I was really hoping for more pizazz. So I double-checked my book, A Garden to Dye For , and yep, I could add some baking soda as a modifier.
I'm going to let the whole brew steep overnight. I'll let you know what it looks like after it's dried, and then again after it's rinsed. Fingers crossed that most of the color stays put.
Comments
You have changed my world, Vivien!
xo