Eco Printing

 The piece below is my favorite fabric - cotton and silk - it has a substantial but soft hand and takes the print and color so beautifully! 

I've become totally obsessed with eco printing/dyeing.  I have learned a lot from my experience these past few weeks - there is no better learning than doing.  Last week, I used onion skins, red cabbage, leaves and copper pipes.  Here are some of the results:

 I used many varieties of fabric - all silk/wool or with some silk content as that is my fabric of choice and the results are quite varied.  I used chiffon, gauze, habotai, etamine, silk mix of something that I picked up at the bazaar in Amsterdam for a song - shiny on one side and it was so inexpensive that I couldn't quite believe that it was silk - but it dyed so beautifully with maple leaves.  

I'm in awe of nature and the color she produces.  I've looked everywhere for a source of eucalyptus and put out a desperate call to FB friends and alas, a kind friend is sending me some and  I have ordered more varieties since I want to make some of those lovely reddish prints; I have learned that in order to achieve that, lots depend on many conditions - variety, time of year and other factors.  I can't wait to experiment further.