Hi Louise What sort of wool product will we be needing for Week 1 please? Small white something eg little top, plain baby blanket from an op shop? Thanks Kathy
Great question! I’ll be demonstrating on a rectangle cut from a woollen blanket and on a jumper (pullover), both of which I found secondhand. But the basic technique is adaptable to different shapes. I recommend getting some kind of square or rectangle wool fabric whether that is a scarf, a piece of fabric or a wool blanket, plus a piece of clothing such as a jacket, jumper, dress. The wool can be white or even a pale colour. What you suggested sounds great.
There seems to be lots of common misconceptions about eco-printing, like the fabric always needing to be wet, or having to soak the leaves in vinegar. I’ve always used dry fabric and it works for me. Because we are boiling our bundles, rather than steaming, the water in the pot will quickly saturate it anyway.
haii, so you mean that if we use wool, we can use fresh leaves, while soaked leaves for cotton. how about for silk? anyway, i can’t find any wool for sale in indonesia.. ?
Yes that’s right, soaked leaves for cotton (when using an iron mordant), and fresh for wool or silk (also fresh for cotton when using a soy binder because this behaves similar to wool/silk). Some eco-printer use fresh leaves for everything, but this is what I have personally gotten best results with.
Hi, if you are using iron with the protein based fibres it is fine, but if not there aren’t enough tannins left in soaked leaves so you will get pale prints compared with using fresh leaves.
Hi Louise, I have a shawl made with wool gauze, this is very thin, what do you suggest for not bleeding through when folded. Do I put a peace of cotton on both sides?
Yes you could use a piece of cotton to prevent bleed through. Or better yet, use a piece of old wool blanket the same size as the shawl, to print two pieces at once. Or even some cotton prepared with soy milk binder. I agree with you about avoiding the plastic, it’s not necessary.
Thank you Louise, I was quick yesterday and I tryed with silk. I put it between two peaces of cotton (from old bedsheets) like a sandwich and rolled it up firmly on a stick (as I often did with plastic, put i want to avoid this from now on) I boiled it in water over the woodenfire for one hour (in an old “washingmachine”, there I could not take the pot out, but the fire was extinguished) I let it inside the water….after 2 hours I thought that it might not be good to let it stay in the wather for the whole night. I lifted it out of the water but let it inside the warmth of the pot until morning. Result: extremly bleeding. Lots of leaves bleeded a couple of times through the silk as it is rolled up. I can not immagine that it is because of not rolling it tight enough…as I roled many times before…What would you say? Needs the silk really plastic?
Hi Brigitte, I guess it depends on what is most important to you. If you are trying to get a very specific type of result, using plastic might be the only way to get that. But if avoiding plastic is more important to you, there are a couple of different options: 1. Embrace the bleeding effect instead of trying for ‘perfect’ prints. 2. Arrange the leaves much more sparsely with bigger spaces between them, so that when they bleed through layers they will create prints in the gaps instead of over other prints. 3. Instead of plastic, use wool, cotton prepared with soy milk binder, or more layers of cotton, as these will absorb more of the dye and stop it from bleeding through to the next layer of silk. The dye is able to move through the old bedsheet that you were trying to mask the silk with, but if you use more layers or something that can absorb the dye, it won’t be able to bleed through.
Brigitte
August 8, 2022
Hi Louise, thank you so much for all your thoughts and ” guiding help”. I ll try the different possibilitys , …and it is really amazing how my friends also love the bleeding through the layers….it really depends very much of how you look at it. Have a good time & thank you a lot!
One more question. If I print on whool and silk.., you say to take fresh leaves, do you mean without dipping in water or dipping them in water for about 3 hours. or days? I put fresh rose leaves and they bleed out and the green of the leave did not show up, it was looking reddish, browny not nice with too much bleeding. ..may you know the problem? Thank you for all your kind help. The course is great. I first read and listen all of it…make lots of thoughts and then I will start to practise step by step. Have a good time, warm regards, Brigitte
Yes, you can use freshly picked leaves for wool, they don’t need any soaking. You can see in the photo in this lesson that I got a brownish print from the rose leaves too, not green. If you are getting lots of bleeding from leaves on wool, it could be that you haven’t rolled or pressed the bundle tightly enough, so that the leaf is pressed firmly into the fabric. It could also be that the particular rose leaves you are using aren’t so good, maybe they don’t contain much colour or maybe they will have more colour in autumn. I’m so glad you are enjoying the course, do let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
Thank you so much for your quick reply Louise! The same problems was with the silk. I am sure I rolled it very tight, and then the roseleaves got this bleeding as I explaned above. All read-brown bleeding…
21 Comments
Hi Louise
What sort of wool product will we be needing for Week 1 please?
Small white something eg little top, plain baby blanket from an op shop?
Thanks
Kathy
Great question! I’ll be demonstrating on a rectangle cut from a woollen blanket and on a jumper (pullover), both of which I found secondhand. But the basic technique is adaptable to different shapes. I recommend getting some kind of square or rectangle wool fabric whether that is a scarf, a piece of fabric or a wool blanket, plus a piece of clothing such as a jacket, jumper, dress. The wool can be white or even a pale colour. What you suggested sounds great.
I have always read that you need to start with a wet piece of fabric but I see yours was dry.
There seems to be lots of common misconceptions about eco-printing, like the fabric always needing to be wet, or having to soak the leaves in vinegar. I’ve always used dry fabric and it works for me. Because we are boiling our bundles, rather than steaming, the water in the pot will quickly saturate it anyway.
Hello! What have you added to the pot’s water? Mordant made with iron and vinegar? I do not always understand English
Yes, the mordant that we made from iron and vinegar in week 0. This is an optional addition, if you want to darken the dye bath.
Hello! Once it has finished boiling and you have already turned off the fire, until it has to leave the bundle in the pot?
I leave it in the pot until it has cooled down, or sometimes overnight.
haii, so you mean that if we use wool, we can use fresh leaves, while soaked leaves for cotton. how about for silk? anyway, i can’t find any wool for sale in indonesia.. ?
Yes that’s right, soaked leaves for cotton (when using an iron mordant), and fresh for wool or silk (also fresh for cotton when using a soy binder because this behaves similar to wool/silk). Some eco-printer use fresh leaves for everything, but this is what I have personally gotten best results with.
Hello Louise, What happens if I soak leaves and used them in protein-based fabric?
Hi, if you are using iron with the protein based fibres it is fine, but if not there aren’t enough tannins left in soaked leaves so you will get pale prints compared with using fresh leaves.
Hi Louise, I have a shawl made with wool gauze, this is very thin, what do you suggest for not bleeding through when folded. Do I put a peace of cotton on both sides?
Yes you could use a piece of cotton to prevent bleed through. Or better yet, use a piece of old wool blanket the same size as the shawl, to print two pieces at once. Or even some cotton prepared with soy milk binder. I agree with you about avoiding the plastic, it’s not necessary.
Thank you Louise, I was quick yesterday and I tryed with silk. I put it between two peaces of cotton (from old bedsheets) like a sandwich and rolled it up firmly on a stick (as I often did with plastic, put i want to avoid this from now on) I boiled it in water over the woodenfire for one hour (in an old “washingmachine”, there I could not take the pot out, but the fire was extinguished) I let it inside the water….after 2 hours I thought that it might not be good to let it stay in the wather for the whole night. I lifted it out of the water but let it inside the warmth of the pot until morning.
Result: extremly bleeding. Lots of leaves bleeded a couple of times through the silk as it is rolled up. I can not immagine that it is because of not rolling it tight enough…as I roled many times before…What would you say? Needs the silk really plastic?
Hi Brigitte, I guess it depends on what is most important to you. If you are trying to get a very specific type of result, using plastic might be the only way to get that. But if avoiding plastic is more important to you, there are a couple of different options: 1. Embrace the bleeding effect instead of trying for ‘perfect’ prints. 2. Arrange the leaves much more sparsely with bigger spaces between them, so that when they bleed through layers they will create prints in the gaps instead of over other prints. 3. Instead of plastic, use wool, cotton prepared with soy milk binder, or more layers of cotton, as these will absorb more of the dye and stop it from bleeding through to the next layer of silk. The dye is able to move through the old bedsheet that you were trying to mask the silk with, but if you use more layers or something that can absorb the dye, it won’t be able to bleed through.
Hi Louise, thank you so much for all your thoughts and ” guiding help”. I ll try the different possibilitys , …and it is really amazing how my friends also love the bleeding through the layers….it really depends very much of how you look at it. Have a good time & thank you a lot!
added to question above: Some people use plastic but I would like to avoid it….
One more question. If I print on whool and silk.., you say to take fresh leaves, do you mean without dipping in water or dipping them in water for about 3 hours. or days? I put fresh rose leaves and they bleed out and the green of the leave did not show up, it was looking reddish, browny not nice with too much bleeding. ..may you know the problem? Thank you for all your kind help. The course is great. I first read and listen all of it…make lots of thoughts and then I will start to practise step by step. Have a good time, warm regards, Brigitte
Yes, you can use freshly picked leaves for wool, they don’t need any soaking. You can see in the photo in this lesson that I got a brownish print from the rose leaves too, not green. If you are getting lots of bleeding from leaves on wool, it could be that you haven’t rolled or pressed the bundle tightly enough, so that the leaf is pressed firmly into the fabric. It could also be that the particular rose leaves you are using aren’t so good, maybe they don’t contain much colour or maybe they will have more colour in autumn.
I’m so glad you are enjoying the course, do let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
Thank you so much for your quick reply Louise!
The same problems was with the silk. I am sure I rolled it very tight, and then the roseleaves got this bleeding as I explaned above. All read-brown bleeding…