Choosing fabric and clothing

Types of plant-based fabric

While I have used cotton in most of the videos for this module, all the information also applies to other plant-based fibres such as linen or hemp. You can even use semi-synthethic fibres like rayon and other viscose fibres, which have been made from highly processed plant materials. But keep clear of acrylic fibres like polyester which have been made from petroleum, as the plant dyes will not bond to them. Nylon is an exception, as you will see in Week 5.

You can use both knit (stretchy) or woven fabric. Knit fabric is sometimes slightly easier to roll or fold up into a bundle, but it doesn’t really matter. Just choose what you prefer, and what you know you will wear or use.

What to eco-print?

In the coming weeks I will demonstrate on two cotton tank tops, some pieces of cotton fabric and a nylon nightie.  You may like to use the same,  but you could also extend these techniques to dresses, white jeans, scarves, or other items. Any textile item that can be rolled or folded up can be used. And if you don’t want to eco-print on nylon, you can substitute any plant-based fibre item for this lesson.

White fabric is the easiest to eco-print. But you can try using some lightly coloured fabric too. It is possible to eco-print over pale synthetic dyes and it sometimes looks amazing, especially if the fabric is old and well washed:

You’ll also need some pieces of cotton to use as dye blankets and iron blankets. Old cotton bed sheets bought second hand are a cheap, good material that take the dye really well.

Washing your fabric

Before you prepare your clothing/ fabric with the soy milk binder, it needs to be washed. Put in through the washing machine on a warm wash with a mild detergent, and do an extra rinse cycle at the end to ensure there are no traces of soap left in the fabric. Sometimes I scour my fabric with washing soda or soda ash, but I have found this is unnecessary when using the soy milk binder.