Bundling and Cooking Options for Eco Prints

There are many options for cooking one's bundles; the final results are related to the method of cooking chosen.  I have three exhibits below, but I have also experimented with solar dyeing and cooking bundles in a crock pot (seemed to leave too much water, but I may try again.)

My first try at pressure cooking yesterday.  I went into the back shed and excavated my old pressure cooker.  I had my doubts about whether it had survived, but after smashing down the little pressure valve, it chugged right along for an hour.

I will open these in a couple of weeks.  When I peeked in the cooker, I could see that the whole scarf had turned color.  The lace wrapped silk scarf is a redye and is bundled with Euca polyanthemos and Hibiscus flowers...trying to keep it simple.

The second silk scarf was simply premordanted in alum and wrapped in Euca polyanthemos and Hibiscus.  That's a sea sponge dipped in alkanet powder piggybacking on the outside of the bundle.  Experiment on.

Pressure Cooked 1 Hour

I had an alkanet bath which had dyed several skeins of yarn a luscious berry purple.  I boiled these 2 scarves in the leftovers.  One scarf is bundled with soaked fall maple leaves and ornamental purple plum leaves, all wrapped on a peeled cherry stem.

The 2nd scarf is wrapped with "ghost" eucalyptus leaves (they don't transfer much color, just a shape in dark  neutral tones) and Euca cinerea.

Boiled 1 Hour in Alkanet Dye Bath

Steaming is best when you want some background to remain white, for delicate flowers and leaves.  The top scarf was wrapped with blackberry, flowers, and leaves.  The dark blackberry stain is obvious on the left.

Much of the white background is left on the 2nd scarf, and the leaves and flowers are showing through.  I will be leaving these a week or two more.

Steamed 1 Hour

On Beyond Brown: Blackberries, Eucalyptus polyanthemos, Cherry leaves, and Iron

Bundled on a copper pipe and steamed for an hour: blackberries, E. polyanthemos leaves, Cherry leaves and cotton string which had been soaked in an Iron solution.  Vinegar spritz.

Yellow color is probably from the eucalyptus leaves

Blue-green at bottom is from the copper pipe

Abstract markings from the iron-soaked string

Madder Week

Dyeing with Madder Root all week.  Soaked the roots for a week or so, then did a solor dyeing which yielded a salmon colored skein (not pictured).  Then ground the soaked roots in the blender and did a dye bath, simmering soaked wool yarn for 1 hour.  I put the blended root in a bag, but I really should have sieved it first, as little bits of dyestuff remain in the wool.  I did 2 more dye baths on the next two days which yielded different shades...the brick red becoming more burnt orange.  In my readings this AM, I learned that leaving out the Cream of Tartar from the mordant bath would yield stronger reds and including it throws the range more to the orange.

The silk tie was bundled with eucalyptus, cherry leaf, yarrow sprays and iron nails, simmered 1 hour, left overnight and opened.

The cherry bark was soaked for about 3 weeks and simmered an hour, left to cool, then the soaked yarn was added the next day and simmer 1 hour...forgotten for a day or two before removing.  I like the color, quite golden and looks lovely with the madder skeins.

Eucalyptus Cinerea Experiment

I was following a discussion about eco printing with Euclyptus leaves and decided to try a little experiment.  I used 3 scarves mordanted with alum and wrapped them with fallen Eucalyptus cinerea leaves and a few other ones...rose and red amaranth, all bundled around a bamboo stalk.

I boiled one bundle in a stainless pot, boiled the second in an iron pot, and steamed the third in an aluminum steamer.  I cooked the bundles for an hour, let them cool in their pots, and then waited a week, keeping them moist.

The 2 boiled bundled took on a deep red (from the amaranth) which eventually washed out.  The rose leaves were most visible on the steamed bundle.  There doesn't seem to be much difference between the two boiled bundles.  I am still looking for some of the blues others seem to get with the iron.

Scarf boiled for an hour in stainless pot

Scarf boiled for an hour in iron pot

Scarf steamed for an hour in aluminum steamer

Various Eco Print Dye Experiments

Silk scarf with hibiscus print

Silk scarf with avocado, eucalyptus, iron nails and bamboo

Silk scarf with Iron nails bamboo and red onion skins

Silk tie with Iron nails, Eucalyptus and Golden bamboo eco prints

Upcycled recycled repurposed Girls t shirt from thrift shop with eucalyptus and red and yellow onion skin eco prints

Silk Men's Necktie with Silver Dollar eucalyptus, other eucalyptus and golden bamboo eco prints

My messy worktable with Ice dye cold bundle flowers, butterfly bush, Crocosmia "Lucifer", and Rose Campion, on silk scarf, pre-dyed with red cabbage....to go into freezer and hopefully turn out spectacular.  also a few leaves from the butterfly bush and one cherry leaf

A few scarves and skeins of yarn hanging from my wisteria tree

Unexpected Dye Color: Lavender from Red Sorrel

I noticed the Red Sorrel in my garden stained my hands, so I cut it all down, chopped it up and put it into a stainless pot. I had intended it for soup, but this purpose seemed more interesting. Reds, purples, and blues have been nonexistent in my dyer's palette so far, although I am still a novice.  I have now planted madder and am experimenting with Silver Dollar eucalyptus.

(Rumex sanguineus) or Blood Red Sorrel, seeds available from Baker's Heirloom Seeds 

May 12---harvested Red Sorrel leaves and stems, simmered an hour, rich ruby dye, so far. Added 2 Silk Scarves and 4 oz. Licorice Twist yarn from Dhama Trading, and 1 oz. skein of Gaia Organic 100% wool from Paradise Fibers. All had been previously mordanted in alum and soaked before adding to dye bath.

Heating it now, so far the dye bath is red, treated this very gently, and let sit overnight.  The dye bath was a beautiful ruby color.  Added the fibers the next morning, cold, and brought to low simmer.

Red scarf soon dries a lavender color

2 scarves came out maroon, drying to light purple, Gaia skein is very nice Oatmeal color, Licorice Twist skein grayish purple, with darker twist

 Scarf drying from dark maroon to mauve  on wisteria vine

Red Sorrel in the garden; this is a rare variety that I grew from seed, there is also a green variety, but I don't think that will dye.  The red has faded some in the last couple of years, and I haven't tried it again.

Dyes from the Blue Gum (eucalyptus) down the road

Eucalyptus globulus, a native to Australia, is fairly common on the Northern California coast.

The fresh eucalyptus leaves were cut up, boiled and left to sit overnight, and then an alum mordanted silk scarf and a tannin and alum mordanted cotton scarf were simmered for 3 hours in the dye bath.  They were left to cool in the dye and then rinsed.  The dye yielded a nice warm tan on the silk scarf, but the color of the cotton did not change, probably because the tannin mordant had already darkened it.

Silk scarf drying in the spring breeze.

I then added  an Iron modifyer, in the form of a ferrous sulphate solution, to the dye bath.  I dumped it in, and the dye bath turned dark blue immediately.  I would like to add the iron modifier more slowly next time, but it's all a learning process.

I wrapped up both scarves for tie-dyeing with rubber bands and immersed them in the now dark blue dye. 

I let them simmer in the hot dye bath for 10 minutes.  The effect was dramatic.  

Eucalyptus dye bath after adding Iron modifyer.

The Cotton scarf on the left, and the tie-dyed silk scarf on the right.  I am rather pleased with how the silk came out.  Cotton is a lot trickier, and I am not so stoked on the colors there.

supposedly, different varieties of Eucalyptus (and there are hundreds) dye various colors.  These next two wool skeins are from my son's tree, possible Eucalyptus rostrata or Red Gum Eucalyptus

The Copper Brown colored skein was dyed from the bark and stems and the yellow is from the leaves of the same tree.