To put this post in context, you will need to read a previous post, ‘Flower Prints  and Dyes.’

I couldn’t wait!  The liquid in my dye bag went completely black and the cotton dye job looked black also.  I decided to open my bag and see what magic had occurred. 

I removed the roll of fabric and untied the string. After unrolling the bundle I submerged it in water and gave it a rinse. I then washed it in soap and water, rinsed again and hung to dry.

I knew the mordant I had used would encourage dark tones to be featured. However I will admit I was rather surprised at how dark even after such a short period of time (5days). There was very little sign of the yellow petals and no sign of the other coloured plant material. There are however outline prints of leaves in places. The onion skins, dried rose petals and fresh petals and leaves had become a patterned mass of greys and blacks.

I am okay with that as this was my first experiment. I shall hem the edges of my piece of cotton and use it as a scarf.

I am working on the mordants. I have now acquired a premade donation of an iron oxide mordant . I have pieces of copper in a jar of vinegar, very slowly oxidizing and the vinegar, after two weeks, is taking on a blue tinge. It will take a while.  

As the supply of fresh flowers from the garden depletes, I realize I likely will not be experimenting again until spring. It is fresh flowers I would really like to use, as the pigments are so much brighter. I have tie dyed in the past and this process certainly is similar but my real focus this time is on the fresh flowers. I really like the idea of going into the garden and harvesting bright petals for the process.  I will certainly use the copper mordant next time as the dark iron oxide was overpowering for these natural colours. I do believe it would be complimentary to other colour ranges such as reds and oranges.

There are many helpful sites on Social Media for using vegetable dyes and I shall be able to learn a lot more through the winter. If my enthusiasm holds, I will get back to this in spring!