I added more leaves to the scarf: in the middle griselina and fire spike and along the outside hydreanga leaves. I put some impatiens flowers to it as well, but didn't expect much from it.
For a test I put eucalyptus leaves between felt layers, put the 2 bundles on my home made steam basket, added more eucalyptus leaves to lots of water and let it boil for about 45 minutes and then cool down
2 days later it looked like this
I started to unroll the bundle, the leaves were still in
and in the end I am quite disappointed with the result
there is hardly any print visible but the strings are very clear
 |
| still wet |
 |
| not much to see when wet |
 |
| after drying and ironing |
A hint of the eucalyptus leaves is still to see and the griselina made light pink prints. Genereally it has a pleasant greyish colour.
I wonder what is the reason why I do not get any nice orange prints from the eucalyptus. Is it the water ? We are on town water which is pretty yak in Kerikeri with lots of clorine. I use a carbon waterfilter to get rid of the clorine taste, but it doesn't take out all. Maybe I should collect rainwater for dyeing? I would not want to use our pond water, it is quite polluted with all the septic tanks around.
I am using an aluminium pot, maybe this is not good? Do the leaves have to be fresh and green?
I have to experiment more !
And the result for the old t-shirt was not very exciting either
It was boild with eucalyptus leaves which makes it look like dyed with tea
Hi Ilse, may be you received already an answer to your eucalyptus question. Anyway here is another one: only a few eucalyptus give you orange. The most common is E. cinerea (silverdollar). You get the nice colour after a longer dry spell (end of summer). You get it from fresh or dry leaves, even from very old one. Do not let the water boil, simmer it. And yes, chlorine changes the colours, definitely use rain water. Griselinia - you have to use the a bit older green leaves, with them I get best results on wool, not silk. Most of the colour comes through the underside of the leaves (there are special pores). Cotton - you have to pre-treat your t-shirts! some protein liquid will do, milk, soymilk... check results on my facebook page Tui Gardens Wool. (more info in India Flint's books: Ecocolour or Second Skin)
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Thank you so much :). I had totally forgotten to reply.
DeleteYes I have both books and my friend Suse and I have made many experiments in the meantime. Suse has been very successful following India's instructions and made some stunning pieces.
Thank you so much :). I had totally forgotten to reply.
DeleteYes I have both books and my friend Suse and I have made many experiments in the meantime. Suse has been very successful following India's instructions and made some stunning pieces.