DIY: Natural Dyeing w/ Roses

 

“Low-impact dyes.” I saw it often on organic handmade clothes.The ever-lasting store bought colors I discovered use toxic mordants harmful to the environment and a lot of water.

Rose petals. Steam. A small pot. I chose some test fabric in cotton. It took me all day to make this small batch. 

I used roses cut from the Park down the road and stored them in the freezer.

My fabric was this vintage cotton fabric trimming.  I soaked the trim in hot water for 10 minutes. I took a small bean pot I don’t use and boiled water at medium high.

 While the water boiled, I placed the petals one by one along the fabric, trying to cover every space. I took them right out of the freezer.

I rolled up it tightly, placed the petals to cover every space of fabric. 

Now, at first i tied it with green twine and just dumped it in the pot. (don’t do that you might cook the fabric, and i also don’t suggest green twine it will leave a mark) Tie it with a rubber band and place in the strainer. Place the strainer above the boiling pot of water. I used a paper plate to trap in the steam. I left it like this for one hour.

The bundle scrolls open revealing brown petals with a bruised purple tinge, melted like candle wax.

I repeated this same steaming technique with the rest of the petals (a total of one cup) I was impressed how beautiful the magenta color was. A healing color of roses, the process of extracting the color was meditative.

 

I love this piece of fabric so much. It’s best  seen in natural light.   Naturally extracted colors are full of magic. New life is brought back into old fabric. It was therapeutic, connected to nature, a search for color . I had so much fun and can’t wait to add plants into my life more.

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It’s Pretty here, and I did want to say sorry for not being in the blog o’ sphere so much.  There is a metamorphosis on my blog. It’s transformed from a caterpillar blog to a cocoon blog.  A lot of things are changing to make this everything I’ve dreamed of. There is so much I can’t hide. I hope you learn something and please share what you color on social media using #prettygang or tag me on Instagram @theprettypoems.

Until we meet again.

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sources.

http://www.herbco.com/s-2510-the-art-of-dyeing-naturally.aspx

http://www.timberpress.com/books/handbook_natural_plant_dyes/duerr/9781604690712

http://www.allnaturaldyeing.com/mordants-fixatives/