Howdy folks, as the weather and the compost pile heats up, why not treat yourself and the kids to a bit of compost dyeing? One of my enduring passions is textile design and for me the colours offered by the flora that surrounds us is the ultimate MAGIC. My study into these things stems partly from the awareness that the amazing array of colours we take for granted as we don our gay apparel on a daily basis are not sustainable. Without diving too deep into the depths of that seldom discussed subject today, teaching our children how to derive colour from something as simple and ubiquitous as vegetable peel, soil or the compost heap is a fun way to plant the seeds of wonder in our artists, designers and scientists of the future. The best thing is its free, other than needing enough vinegar, organic soya milk or milk to cover the fabric (these are whats known as the mordant), a compost heap, vegetable peel and some cotton, hemp or silk fabric (pale colours are best - a doilie (dont tell nana), tea towel or hankie is a good start). It needs to be a natural fibre - plastics wont take up the colour and wool wont be happy in the compost heap either. Soak your fabric in your mordant of choice - I usually do it for a few days or at least overnight. Then take the vege and fruit peel and lay it on your flat piece of fabric. When youve positioned your scraps, roll up the fabric with them sandwiched in it. Tie the fabric with a piece of string, make sure your bundle is secure and then bury it in the steamy warmth of the compost heap for a month or two. Mark your date of exhumation on the calendar so you dont forget, and when the time comes, pull that bundle out and see what kind of colour alchemy youve made. Youll need to rinse the fabric in rain or plain water - no soap initially and leave it in the shade to dry. Give it an iron and voila! you will have a remarkable piece of fabric and science experiment combined. Ill be posting on costasworld over the next few months about other easy ways to extract colour from plants and will go into the science of it in laymans terms so you can pass on the chemistry to the kids. Let us know if any of you are ardent vegetable dyers - wed love to see what youre up to. Take a look at the link for some ideas about whats possible with vege dyes - India Flint is leading the way in terms of getting the ancient dyeing information out there. Have a great week everyone - and dont forget to let us know if you embark on the compost colour experiment. Im going to make a bundle, give it to Costa and ask him to put it in his compost heap. Ill unveil it here in a few months. Michelle - costasworld #EcoDye #NaturalDye #IndiaFlint
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 07:30:00 +0000
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