Most fabrics today are dyed synthetically. But people world wide have been using plants, insects and even sea life to produce color onto and into fabric for hundreds of years. I have read a few articles where it states that dying fabric dates back to 2600 BC.
I remember back in the 80’s I had pots of bark, leaves and flowers, plus muslin fabric, boiling on the stove top in my kitchen. Probably not a good thing for indoor creativity. But the results were pretty good. The mixture produced a light pink in the muslin fabric. I cannot recall exactly what my magic mixture was. Not knowing much about mordants and other fixatives to keep the color in the cloth, most of the color washed out of that batch.
After taking many classes, both here in the US and abroad, twenty years after my attempt with my brew, I found the beauty of dying with bits from nature. Using leaves, bark, twigs, flowers, etc. I am back at it. The good news is I learned how to use fixatives to help the color seep in and not wash out!
A friend invited me to her studio for some experimenting. I gathered bags of various eucalyptus leaves, plus bark and pods from the trees, and some oak leaves. I think I had five varieties of eucalpytus from my parents property. The bottom left corner was where the iron pipe produced a deep brown color. I managed a few yards of dyed crepe wool and created this jacket. The pattern is a Marcy Tilton Vogue 8982. A wonderful pattern for all your artful designing.
Natural Dyed Jacket by Leslie Gelber
Back of Natural Dyed Jacket, by Leslie Gelber
Detail of Natural Dyed Jacket – by Leslie Gelber
The art buttons I purchased from Counterpoint Buttons over 15 years ago. They seemed to work perfect on this little jacket and are like little pieces of jewelry. Pays to keep those treasures.
And while we were up to our ears in boiling pots and leaves and bark, I decided to add another piece. This was a scarf I had hand felted. It was solid off white before the natural dye process. I purposely felted holes into the edges to be able to add felted ropes for added interest.
Natural Dyed Scarf – by Leslie Gelber
Detail of Natural Dyed Scarf – by Leslie Gelber
There are many masterful artists who have written books and wander the world teaching the process of this magical dying from the natures bounty. I am merely a student, and inspired by those who have taught me.
Until next time, happy creating to you.
Leslie
