first experiment in dyeing

Well. After something of a hiatus -- July was very busy with work, and I spent all last week divided between organizing a summer arts camp for kids K-6, and teaching said children how to machine sew -- and what with June having been so rich in terms of workshops and exhibitions (alas, so much I didn't see) -- I had a few hours today to experiment with natural dyes, India Flint style.

Mordant: Stainless steel pot, vinegar water. Taking my cues from Flint's "Eco Colour" I selected blossoms for dying/ecoprinting from the yard and garden that were relatively innocuous -- blue bachelors' buttons, violas, squash blossoms, tiger lily petals. Some fresh, some frozen in baggies as I collected them over the past few weeks. I added fine grounds of coffee and cardamon, and dried hibiscus. I used mainly fresh raw silk scarves purchased through Dharma Trading, in small sizes. I also used cotton and linen scraps, which didn't take dyes well and probably had some sizing or something in the fibers that retarded the process. But the silk was very sensitive to dyes.

I found in my first primitive experiment the following:
The squash blossoms did not release well, except when combined with hibiscus in larger quantities, and left in the bath at least two hours. Then the result was a delicate but pleasing wash of apricot hue.
Tiger lily blossoms stained reddish orange, though with fairly weak intensity.
Bachelors' Buttons release well, but have more effect in combination with onion skins and stems.
Purple onion skins and dark viola petals release well, and leave bluish-purple to reddish-purple markings.

I have not yet tried any greens, though an artist friend who took a full-week workshop with India Flint assures me that catalpa pods stain a lovely green -- and I can find those right at the end of my street.

I know I can have more fun with this. The trick is to be patient with the brewing, and I think to have greater quantities of blossoms.