Friday 21 January 2011

Solar dyed fabrics.



Brown onion skin and ivy dyed fabrics.

I was so pleased with the results of the solar dyeing especially as I used a mix of  recycled fabrics. This technique is a sustainable way of natural dyeing using no form of energy other than the sun.It uses no nasty chemicals that you have to dispose of, all of which is a big environmental plus and something that, in my opinion, artists and crafts people should become more aware of. Best of all the dyes are free and freely available with a bit of effort on your part.

Logwood and Peony dyed fabrics. 
Although Logwood doesn’t grow here (cheating I know!) I used bark that I had hanging around to obtain the deeper purple.The staining on the cloth comes from wrapping some of the peony petals in the bundles, where they touch the cloth they leave a darker mark, sometimes if your lucky you will even get the shape of the petal.


Walnut and red onion skin dyed fabrics.

The dyes that I used were not mixed together in the jar, they were dyed separately,I have just grouped them together as they look so beautiful. I am writing out the instructions for solar dyeing, which you must understand is not an exact science, it all depends on the heat, length of time you leave them, water etc.For those of you who want to give it a try, I will post them in a few days. Enjoy! 

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