September is Half Over!

I can't believe it, where did September go?  I've been reading a Blog by India Flint.  She does Eco Dyeing with plants including leaves and berries. I just love her things. I decided to give it a try yesterday so here is my process and the results.

#1 I used a 100% silk scarf for my project.  I picked some leaves and flowers from my garden.  Zinnia, Rose Leaves and some others.  I dampened the scarf and laid some of the plant material across one side.  Then I folded the other side on top.  The scarf is now folded in half lengthwise.

#2  I carefully rolled the scarf on to a piece of branch Ronnie had cut for me.  It needed to fit into my dye pot.

#3  I tied up the bundle with some strong string, around and around with a few leaves placed on top before adding the string.

#4  I placed the bundle in boiling water with some beet juice and onion skins added for color.  I didn't want the white of the scarf to remain pure white. :)  Boiled this with cover on for 1 hour.  Turned off the heat and let it sit to cool down overnight.  Patience is the name of the game here.

#5   This morning I removed the string, cleaned off the plant material, dried the scarf, then ironed it.
I was disappointed more of the leaves didn't seem to print.  The Zinnia leaves did print and I'm happy with that.  Some pieces of flowers printed a bit but not really attractive. I like the marks the string made at the bottom of one edge. (see below)

 This was an interesting project and I may do another using all zinnia leaves, we'll see.  Remember to Play a Little Each Day!

Peace,
Diane