These colours have come from dye plants grown at Leewood and dyed in a low impact, environmentally friendly way. The walnut, red dahlia, tansy and weld were solar dyed in glass jars containing the plant material and fleece and diluted alum when appropriate, using the heat of the sun to activate the process - the yellows are more vibrant in real life. The indigo was an experiment taken from Liles Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing, and is called Saxon Blue, though not the indigo/sulphuric acid dye that we usually associate with that name. I took dirty fleece, straight from the sheep, put it in a jar with water and let the brew develop in the sun. I removed the fleece, added indigo powder (not Leewood grown), a little household washing soda, gave a good stir and left in the heat of the sun. The bacteria from the fleece reduced the oxygen in the vat, enabling the indigo to attach to the fibres when the now washed fleece was re-introduced. So this fleece has been dyed in indigo activated by the bacteria that had gathered on it during normal daily life. Result!!
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 10:16:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015