Eco Printing

During Fall 2020 I've spent time trying to learn more about eco-printing. I've done a fair amount of eco dyeing but have long wanted to go deeper with the prints one can achieve from organic or natural dyes.

In the last few months, I've taken two workshops, one from the local fiber art collective, and another from India Flint in Australia. Both were remote or virtual, of course, because this is the year of staying home and avoiding germs. 

The local one was fun but not really focused on printing, at least not what I had visualized. The focus was on purchased natural dyes like marigolds, chamomile, rosebuds and annatto powder. The splotchy colors were vibrant and the results were quick on our silk handkerchiefs. 

But I had hoped for more emphasis on printing. My workshop with India Flint has really given me much to practice in this arena. I love that we are encouraged to use what is easily available, instead of ordering natural dye stuffs online. Ordering stuff online is totally fine, but I enjoy the surprise of what can happen with debris I collect in the back yard. 

Silk produces the best prints. I've had mixed results printing on cotton, or linen, or rayon, but the prints are more 2-dimentional (flat). With silk, there is depth and shimmer, as if the leaves were still attached. This is an off-white silk shantung. This dyeing process softens it a bit.

I've also learned that it helps to mordant with iron and vinegar. I usually leave the cloth soaking in the iron/vinegar bath overnight, then partially dry the item, prior to rolling it tightly around something and securing with twine or elastic.

For me the key ingredients are time, mordanting, and silk. The organic substances chosen to make the prints do matter, but I've been amazed how much the leaves all over my yard produce prints. The leaves and other yard debris used are not uniformly ready to yield lovely stains. For example, the leaves from my Japanese maple and other maples produce pretty detailed prints, but gingko does not produce anything. I understand it can be used as a resist though. Magnolia which is all over my neighborhood, also fails to provide a print. 

Time is also important. First I simmer my bundle for a couple of days, off and on. In one case, I tucked it into the freezer for more than a month after a little simmering. DH now knows that items in the freezer are not necessarily edible!

Mordanting with the iron/vinegar bath produced interesting results with a piece of silk that started out already a light brown. No prints emerged, as the mordant dyed the entire piece dark rich brown. 

Additionally I collect the skins from onions - these make lovely distinctive stains/prints. Also I occasionally buy eucalyptus in the floral section of my grocery store. It doesn't really like to grow in Atlanta as it is too damp here, but it definitely produces pretty prints and pretty colors.

Above, you can see some interesting printing from the twine used to secure the bundle tightly.

Next I'm going to work (harder) on printing on paper. These cannot simmer the way the silk does without crumbling apart, so I'm hoping I can produce something with a quick mordanting in the iron/vinegar bath, Then after rolling the leaves into the paper, I will try steaming it.

I now have enough to make something, maybe a jacket, or a top, out of these silks.