weekend experiments in dyeing

Another picture heavy post coming up friends. My laboratory for the advanced study of dyeing and staining with natural materials was set up in the backyard on the weekend. The materials I used in this scientific pursuit were Tanacetum vulgare, orange Mycenae, coffee arabica, caulophyllum thalietroides and rhus typhina. Now if you don't real or speak latin this translates to common tansy, orange mushrooms, the left over coffee from the morning, blue cohosh berries and stag-horn sumac. The experiments started early sunday morning while I was still dressed in my nightdress ( liberty for target) and went well into the evening where they were met with a very forceful storm. I dip dyed old t shirts that I was going to use for another crocheted rag rug. I tried different ways of manipulating the fabric ( scrunching, gathering, pleating, etc) to see the different effects. I also painted with the concentrated dyes. I even tried to do some rudimentary chromatography with them although I lacked the proper solvents. ( I used vodka instead of ethanol) . Enough talk, here are some pictures. 

common tansy

orange Mycenae 

morning coffee

blue cohosh berries ( my favorite pattern and exactly what I was hoping for with this experiment)

sumac ( my favorite colors )

Some of these doilies were double dipped in different dyes :)

vodka chromatography ( I bet you don't see that everyday)

beautiful light just before the big storm and then the morning after.

The final conclusion of the experiments in dyeing was that the surface was the best part.

I am in love with that last image. I think it looks like an antique map of some wonderful mysterious islands.

That and the pleated dipped and dyed effect made this day of experimenting definitely worth while.

                   

          

Comments

[mavis]

Wow. I am now inspired to do some natural dye experiments of my own...

[melissa]

gorgeous! tansy is one of my favourite wildflowers so i was excited to see how that dye turned out.
i can imagine a very delicate, white cotton slip-dress dip-dyed with natural materials, that would be beautiful..

[Cozy Memories]

another extraodinary post, my friend. I loved your experiments, the blue cohosh berries & sumac left the best pattern & color ! But the surface on the ground is amazing !!!
and Melissa, oh yes, that would be such a wonderful idea ! :)
oxox
Sonia

[joanie]

I love your lab of colour. The results are so fun to see and your pictures of the process are wonderful ! I like the last image too. I can see a tiny stitched ship traveling across that map :)

[The Muse of The Day]

There were so many parts of this post that I could call my favorite - the test tubes with colorful dye, the pattern made by the blue cohosh berries, but it is the image of the dyed doilies hanging right before the storm that, for me, gets the title of "favorite-of-the-post". Why? Because they look like softly colored moths under the leaves of a viridis vestis arbor - green clothes pin tree. Pardon the ignorant Latin, you get the idea. Carolina

[annri]

so beautiful! i'm imagining what's next for those pieces...

best.

[lauren]

oh dolly,
these are some rather fancy snapshots!
i enjoy gazing lovingly upon them!
thanks for sharing!
your blog is splendid! x x

[rae]

looks like too much fun!! thanks for sharing. ;)

[wren]

These look like very satisfying experiments indeed!
As someone who has studied natural dyes quite a bit for school I was really helped by a few lovely books (if you're interested) that go over dyeing along with the necessary fixing solutions or mordants (to make the colors darker/richer and that help 'fix' them to the fiber) A Dyer's Garden: From Plant to Pot: Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers by Rita Buchanan is one of the best. Also these folks are pretty amazing, and they recently did a post on dyeing with marigold: http://allysonandjeremy.blogspot.com/2010/08/something-to-celebrate.html
Best of luck! Such beautiful photographs.

[Geninne D. Zlatkis]

The doilies are beautiful! What a fun thing to do on a weekend :)

[Lisa at Lil Fish Studios]

What I love most about this is the sense of play. You can feel that you had a good time doing this. Beautiful.

[Jill Wignall]

It looks like you had a lot of fun! Like being back at college - a day of arty experiments all day long. How enjoyable : )

[Kiki]

That looks like so much fun, now I feel inspired to try some of that natural dying myself.

[DK]

That wonderful ink came from sumac!? Oh, now I simply must go harvest some and do some dying. Did you just douse and steep them in very hot water to obtain the dye?

[DK]

heh, meant to say "pink" in the last comment and not ink, though if it would work as in ink I may play with that as well

[Asha]

INCREDIBLE.

[nicole]

I am so inspired and enchanted by what you do!
You tease so much beauty out of everyday life.