Recently, I've been pretty obsessed with natural dyed fabrics. I have never tried this dyeing technique before and it always seemed like a slightly unattainable specialism, but the fabrics are so gorgeous I finally decided to try it for myself.
In the run up to Valentine's Day, I was thinking a lot about the traditional gift of roses, and I had this idea to use the flowers in my dyeing project (unfortunately I had no Valentine so I had to buy the flowers for myself). After researching into the best botanicals to use, I discovered that roses might not give me the soft pinks I had in mind, so I got some hibiscus, black mallows and cornflowers as well. I ordered these flowers in dried form from Etsy, as they were a bit tricky to get fresh.
My first step was prepping my fabric. I prepared a solution of 1 part soya milk to 5 parts water and soaked my 100% cotton jersey in the solution of for 24 hours. I then rinsed well and dried completely. When dry, I submerged the fabric in a fresh solution, rinsed and dried again. I repeated the submerge, rinse, dry 3 more times.
Once my fabric was prepared, I began the dyeing process. After a couple of tests, I decided on the bundle and steam method.
Step 1
Dampen the fabric and lay flat on a clean surface. Spread your flowers out evenly on the fabric. You can use dry or fresh flowers, spices, or even food waste; avocado skins and stones will give fabric a gorgeous pink colour. I used roses, hibiscus, black mallows and cornflowers.
Step 2
Roll your fabric up and wrap into a bundle. Secure using string, rubber band or fabric strips. I used some twine, but I had to remove this half way through steaming as it was marking my fabric!
Step 3
Place your bundle into a steamer or colander over a pan. Fill the pan with enough water for a long steam, but don’t allow the water to touch the fabric. Steam for an hour with the lid on. I turned mine halfway through.
Step 4
Remove from the steamer and let your fabric cool down and dry.
Step 5
Unwrap your bundle and remove the flowers. Do not rinse yet.
Step 6
Leave the fabric for a few days, keeping it out of the sun. Then press with a hot iron to secure the colour. You can then wash your fabric with just water or with a gentle soap.
FAQs
What's the purpose of the soya milk?
Soy acts as a mordant to help bind the natural dyes to the fabric. Using soya milk will change the colours you can achieve by darkening them slightly, but it will also help the colours to last for longer. There are different mordants or binders that you can use such as iron, aluminium, salt or vinegar.
What other techniques are there?
The bundle method is just one way to dye your fabric. You can soak your fabric with your flowers or spices in some boiling water; this technique would be preferable to achieve an all-over colour. Or you can hammer fresh flowers onto damp fabric to create a print. I really enjoyed experimenting with different ideas to see what effects I could achieve.
Can you dye premade garments?
The short answer is yes, but you will need to check the fabric composition. Dyeing works best on natural fibres, so as long as your garments are made with natural fabrics then there is no reason you shouldn't be able to dye them.
What do you think of natural dyes? Will you be giving this technique a go?
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