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Pat Spark,
© August 5, 2017
I love dyeing textiles, doing various surface design
techniques to create interesting patterns on the cloth. I actually love to dye
with synthetic dyes because of the amazing colors a person can get. Back in the
late ‘60s, I did do a lot of experiments with plant dyes, but I could only
afford what I could gather and these plants provided me with an assortment of
beiges, browns, and ochres. Not the colors of my heart.
Then Earthhues made extracts available to the public and
plant dyeing became easier. But by this time I was hooked on using synthetics
and even though I took some workshops on using extracts, in the ‘80s and 90s, I
stayed with the various synthetic dyes I had learned to mix and control.
Fast forward to 2010. I began seeing textiles with images of leaves on them and people were talking about “ecoprinting”, a contact printing technique named by India Flint. While I had used a brayer and ink to apply pigment to leaves and then printed with them and I had pounded leaves with mallets to force the pigment out onto fabric, I didn’t know how folks were getting such strong leaf effects by a wet method. Finally in 2012, a learning opportunity presented itself to me. Pam DeGroot came to the Midwest Felting Symposium to teach “From Garden to Garment”- a workshop where we made garments using commercially made pre-felts and then we dyed these felt garments with plant materials using both contact leaf printing and natural dye immersion baths. This was my beginning with contact leaf printing and it was a fun addition to the years of dyeing knowledge that I had already accumulated.
Because I am primarily an audio learner, I learn best in a
workshop and I take lots of workshops in a field I’m interested in to inundate
myself with the information. I take copious notes in a workshop because they
help me to remember what the teacher and the other students were saying in the
class which also triggers memories of my own thought processes during the
workshop- this is the influence of being an audio learner! I also do research
and gather more information. In
addition, I experiment with the techniques until I feel comfortable with them. But I also seem to learn best when I can try
to find the universal aspects of the process I’m trying to learn. Does this new thing I’m learning have anything
in common with anything I’ve learned in the past? When I can figure out the
skeletal structure underlying the techniques, it all starts to make more sense
for me. I feel that I’m starting to figure out these basic concepts with
botanical printing and dyeing so here is my attempt to write these things down.
Although, the basic concepts will probably shift and expand as new ideas float
into my mind. Also, as an artist and designer, I have found over the years that
I design from the basics. It helps me to know why wool makes felt at a cellular
level so that I can exploit those properties to have the felt turn out the way
I want it to. I think of dyeing in the same way.
Contact Printing Basics
The beginning idea of any contact printing is that you must
have strong contact between the ground paper or cloth and the item you are
using for the print. If you’re using a printing press, the press itself will
provide the pressure to create the contact, but with leaf printing, the artist
needs heat and moisture as well to get the pigments in the leaf to attach to
the fibers in the paper or cloth. So you need good contact, heat and
moisture. Here is an overview of a method to do this.
1. Lay the leaves on the cloth or paper ground. (For this discussion, I am going to call the
surface being printed onto, the ground.)
2. Put weights on one end of the leaf covered ground. Lay a
core on the other end of the ground and roll up the leaf covered ground,
pulling against the weights to get a tight roll with good contact. (The core can be rigid, like a pipe or piece
of wood which must be cut to fit the dye kettle; or it can be flexible like
plastic tubing, rope or rolled up paperboard, the flexibility allowing the roll to be curved around to fit inside a
dye kettle easily.)
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| Maples in Center, no Dyes on Outside Iron Blanket (Carrier) and Leaves Placed Sun Side Down |
Now the bundle needs heat and moisture so that the pigments
can release from the leaves and transfer to the ground.
4. Immersion Method-The bundle can be placed in water and
simmered from one to several hours, depending on the leaves. People often put
plant material or extracts into the water and if the ground on the outside of
the roll is exposed to the bath, it will take up color from the bath. The ties
around the bundle act as a resist creating lines where the ground cannot take
up pigment. (A variation on this is to
have a wide ground cloth and place the leaves only on a narrow strip of it. Use
a core that fits that narrow strip of leaves, then roll and tie just that
narrow strip. The rest of the ground is loose and untied. This loose ground
will dye with the pigments that are in the bath, creating stripes of color beside
a stripe of printed leaves.)
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| Sumac in Center, Logwood on Outside |
If the ground cloth is covered with a layer of plastic after it is rolled but before it is tied, no pigment can reach the ground and it won’t be able to take up any dye from the bath.
5. Steaming Method-The bundle is placed on a rack above
boiling water and the steam creates the moisture and heat. With this method, no
pigment will be able to dye the outside of the bundle. Again, the steam
moisture is applied from 1-several hours depending on the leaves. (A variation on this is to solar steam the
bundle by moistening it, wrapping it in black plastic and putting it in the hot
sun for several hours or even several days. This is sort of a combination of
the immersion and steaming methods. Some people put the bundle into a jar of
water and set that in the sun which is definitely an immersion technique.)
6. Unwrap the bundle when it is cool, but let the ground dry
and put it aside to “rest” for a few days before it is rinsed to help the
pigments to “set”.
Altering
the Basics
Preventing
Ghosting
After doing a print or two, I noticed that what worked well
with a thick cloth like felt, didn’t work well with a thin cloth like 8mm1 silk.
The thinner the fabric, the more likely
a “ghost” image would appear which was disconcerting when I hadn’t planned on
it. The pigment in some leaves is so strong that it would penetrate through
several rolls of the thin fabric, making prints that were less and less dark
with each subsequent roll. To prevent this ghosting, I now lay the ground out
on a piece of plastic drop cloth (1ml). This plastic rolls up with the ground
and acts as a resist to keep the pigment in just one layer of the bundle. I have also used densely woven cotton cloth
for this.
The Fabric Itself
The Colorant
Source (Leaves, Bark, Insects, etc.)
Botanical Colorants fall into three basic types: Substantive, Vat and Adjective. They
are classified by their chemical composition. Substantive dyes don’t require any additional chemical additives
because the dye molecules attach themselves to the fiber molecules directly.
These types of dyes are relatively permanent. Familiar substantive dye sources are
turmeric, black tea, onion skins, walnut hulls, oak galls, lichens and cochineal
bugs.
Vat dyes create a bond with the fiber through
reduction and oxidation. They are introduced onto the outside of the
fiber while in a reduced soluble form and then through oxidation they are converted
into an insoluble form. Indigo is the most familiar type of natural vat dye.
Adjective dyes require a mordant to
create the chemical bond with the fiber. Many of the botanical sources we use
are in this category. The various mordants will create different affects. A
mordant molecule actually attaches to the fiber molecule and creates a bridge
for the dye to attach.
Eucalyptus is an interesting botanical
dye source that doesn’t fall nicely into the above categories. It has both a
pigment molecule and its own tannin which is a mordant source. The leaves, bark
and branches all give color just by themselves!
In addition, some dyes require modifiers. A common use of a modifier is to change the
pH of the fiber and cause the dye to change in some way, often to change in
color. Vinegar will make the fiber more acidic while chalk will make it more
alkaline.2,
3, 4, 5
I highly
recommend the video of Olga Kazanskaya for her explanation of dye plants and
the specific pigments to be found in them. This list is in the PDF that goes along
with the video. You can get it here: http://www.tvfelt.com/shop/dyeing/dyeing.php
The
Leaf Itself
When a leaf grows on a tree, its upper side needs protection
from the elements. It is often more waxy and dense. This part of the leaf, the
cuticle and upper epidermis, helps the leaf hold in moisture. The lower
epidermis is more open, allowing for gas exchange. The middle layers of the
leaf are spongy and are where most of the various pigments are located. People
often call the top of the leaf, the “sun” side since it faces the sun. They call the bottom of the leaf, the “moon”
or the “earth” side. I don’t understand calling it the moon side since it doesn’t
face the moon, but it does face the earth so I use this name.
The pigments
from most leaves will print only from the earth side. Some, like eucalyptus,
will print from both sides. If a leaf is placed with the sun side against the ground
cloth, any tannins in the leaf might squeeze out a bit around the outside
edges. Because tannin reacts with iron to make a dark grey or black, it is
possible to make a dark outline of the leaf if you add iron to the process
somewhere. Sometimes even the veins of the sun side will make a tannin line. Where
the leaf is cut from the branch can also leak tannic acid if that leaf has
tannin in it. This can create an interesting halo of white where the tannic
acid bleaches out any pigment in the background. If iron is present, it can
make a big, dark blob, sort of like an ink spot. Some people cover the end of
the stems with plastic wrap or duct tape to prevent this from happening.
Leaves can be used fresh, they can be dried or frozen. It is
helpful to presoak the leaves in very hot water for about 10 minutes, even if
they are fresh, to open them up so more pigment can come from them. This is
especially important for dried leaves. Also, my experience with frozen leaves
is that the cells are more broken down from the freezing and thawing process so
they usually print nicely. The unfortunate thing is that they can take up a lot
of space in the freezer!
Kathy Hays has a good, free document on harvesting and
storing leaves. https://gumroad.com/l/jbQGn#
The Fabric Itself
I usually buy fabric or scarves that are PFD. That is Prepared
for Dyeing. Some people recommend that these should be scoured anyway, but
since I am mainly using silk, I don’t bother. When I have used cotton, especially
recycled garments, I do scour and wash them.
I do soak the fabrics really well before I print on them.
With silk, I put it in water for about 8 hours, while with wool felt I soak it
for a good 12 hours.
Mordants/Modifiers
I have just started pre-mordanting my fabrics. I am using
Aluminum Sulfate and I follow the instructions from Maiwa. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1086/6542/files/natural_dyeing.pdf?2654190834341498536
I did this because I wanted to get nicer yellows from the
plants and alum will do this.
I have also pre-mordanted with tannic acid by dipping the
damp fabric into the tannin prior to dyeing.
People also mordant by rolling the bundle with a copper, aluminum
or iron pipe or by using a copper, iron or aluminum kettle for doing the
dyeing.
Both tannin and alum can be added to the process at a
different stage. The list below for
adding iron, could also be used for added alum or tannin.
Adding
Iron
Because iron can create such interesting effects with
tannin, I often add it at different times in the process. I don’t pre-mordant
with it however since it does sadden (darken) colors and I don’t usually want
this as an overall effect. I prefer targeting the areas where I want iron and
just putting iron in those places.
I do add iron in a few different ways:
1. Dip or paint the leaf with iron solution. Blot it before
using.
2. Soak the leaves for a few hours in iron water. Blot.
3. Use a carrier that has been dipped in iron water.
4. Roll the bundle around an iron pipe.
5. Roll bits of iron (nails, wire, flat objects, etc.) in
with the bundle.
6. Dip the piece in iron water after dyeing.
I use two forms of iron, ferrous sulfate in powdered form
and ferrous acetate in liquid form. I make solutions of iron water. Ferrous
Sulfate water is made from putting 2 tsp. of ferrous sulfate powder into a gallon of water. To
make Ferrous Acetate, put a rusty nail or other rusty bits into a jar and cover
with vinegar. Let it sit for several days until it is a bubbly liquid. Dilute
this iron acetate liquid with water (about 5:1) and use it for the iron water.
The iron
water solution can be diluted if you want the reaction with the tannin to be
less black.
Using
a Carrier (Blanket)
A carrier cloth is a way of transferring (carrying) a dye,
mordant or other additive to the cloth you are wanting to dye. This “cloth” is often dipped, soaked or
simmered in the substance and then placed onto the project. Then the sandwiched
cloths are bundled and steamed, often with leaves between them to create
botanical prints. The steaming transfers the new substance over to the cloth in
your project.
The cloth
doesn’t have to actually be “cloth” at all.
Some people use paper towels for this. And the carrier doesn’t need to
cover the whole project. Potentially,
you can cut out shapes and place them over your project in order to get some
areas with the carried substance and some areas without it. For instance tannin
and iron create a greyish black. So in theory, the project could be iron
mordanted and shapes could be cut out of a tannin dipped carrier and laid onto
the iron mordanted project. After
bundling and steaming, the areas where the iron and tannin come together would
be a different a greyish black.
The concept of using dye carriers (blankets) is common to
many dyeing styles, both natural and synthetic dyeing. The iron blanket is one
kind of carrier, but there are others. You use a material which can hold the
mordant, dye or additive. This material can be something like cloth or strong
paper which won't react with the substance that it is carrying to the cloth
that is being affected. Or it can be a material that does react but during the
heating process will still transfer to the other cloth. If you put something
that will resist the transfer process between the cloth and the carrier, you
can get areas on your cloth where there is no reaction between them. This is
what happens when you place leaves between the carrier and the base cloth. Of
course, depending on what substance is on the carrier, the carrier can react
with the pigment in the leaves too. It's all about experimentation.
You can also use other kinds of carrier cloths dipped or
dyed in other substances than iron such as tannin, copper, alum, or even
natural dyes like madder or cochineal. You can even use two silk scarves as
each other blankets, with leaves or other resist designs in between, with each
scarf pre-dipped in mordant or dye. This way you can get two scarves with one
bundling! It is fun to experiment and try different substances with carriers.
The carrier is just a way to add a substance onto the surface of the textile
you are printing onto. It can be put over the whole surface or it can be cut
out and put in just special spots.
1 Mommee (mm) is a
weight measurement. The higher the number, the heavier the cloth. It is
measured with a specific size of cloth (I can't remember the size). So if a
silk cloth weighs less but still is the same size as another piece of silk, the
actual threads themselves are probably smaller in diameter. In addition, the
cloth might be more open. It is a traditional way of measuring silk. Many
people think the mm stands for millimeter, which it doesn't. Some of the silk
gauzes are 3-5mm. Habotai is often 5-8 mm. Because of the way crepes and satins
are woven, they can cram more threads together than they can with habotai so they
will usually weigh more and be more opaque.
2 Paula Burch has an article on pH changing additives here: http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/mordants_and_assists.shtml ATTN: Paula, like me, does not dye with only
natural dyes or only synthetic dyes. She understands the chemistry of them both,
thus this explanation pertains to them both. In this article she does not
address the use of chalk in natural dyeing, but she does address the chemistry
involved in using vinegar to make a dyebath more acidic.
3 Paula Burch has more information on natural dyeing here: http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/naturaldyes.shtml
She includes several links to pages
with mordanting and other natural dye information.
4 Here is an interesting list of mordants and modifiers from
Griffin Dye Works. http://griffindyeworks.com/understanding-mordants/
5 Very good website with information on mordants and
modifiers. http://www.wildcolours.co.uk/html/natural_dyes_mordants.html
If you are interested in learning more about botanical printing there are many places online where you can sign up for workshops, download tutorials or ebooks, or buy books. Here are some of them, as of the date of this blog:
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If you are interested in learning more about botanical printing there are many places online where you can sign up for workshops, download tutorials or ebooks, or buy books. Here are some of them, as of the date of this blog:
Some Online Classes/Tutorials for
Learning Botanical Printing
Justine Aldersey-Williams:
online
classes: http://thewilddyery.com/announcing-...
Kimberly Baxter Packwood:
not botanical printing exactly, but great info on surface
design with natural dyes.
online classes: https://kbaxterpackwood.com/online-...
downloadable ebooks: https://kbaxterpackwood.com/ebooks/
Nicola Brown online class: https://app.ruzuku.com/courses/2173...
Fiber Art Now Magazine
free downloadable PDF: http://fiberartnow.net/wp-content/u...
India Flint
downloadable ebook: http://au.blurb.com/books/5423526-t...
Kathy Hays:
e-courses: http://kathyhaysdesigns.com/index.h...
downloadable PDF: https://m.facebook.com/olga.kazansk...
Terriea Kwong:
downloadable PDF: https://www.etsy.com/listing/517079...
Louise Upshall:
downloadable ebook: http://www.gumnutmagic.com/download...
