I wear a lot of scarves . Transferring flowers to scarves seemed like a natural thing for me to experiment with. I have long admired those who practise the skill of eco dying. Years ago I did experiment with lichen dyes and onion skins. For the last couple of summers I have tried the Japanese art of Tataki-zome or flower hammering so this summer my goal was to combine the two practices, both natural fabric dyes and Tataki-zome. My main goal has been to preserve the colour and shapes of the flowers on naturally dyed fabric.

There is a lot to learn as many flower dyes are transient (fade easily) and not every plant will produce a permanent dye. Luckily the internet provides a wonderful source of videos and documented information about the topic.

I started by ordering 100% cotton voile in the hopes it would be the texture and quality I was looking for. Ordering fabric online is very difficult when you can’t touch it. Not having a source locally for what I needed I just kept my fingers crossed. It has actually turned out very well although I was skeptical at first. The fabric seemed too stiff but after scouring(washing thoroughly to remove any sizing agents) the fabric softened and even more so after the next steps.

Once scoured, the fabric was treated with alum which is a mordanting agent. I have previously tried homemade mordants such as iron acetate or copper acetate but for the quantity I needed I felt this would be easier and more reliable. Mordants are chemicals applied to the fabric to help the dye fix or adhere to the fibers reducing the chance of the colours washing out. The fabric is soaked overnight in enough solution of 15% the weight of the fabric in alum to water – enough to cover the fabric. After rinsing and drying the fabic is ready to dye.

I also had to order the aluminum sulphate as it what not available locally. Something else I learned was that adding Cream of Tartar to the mordant helps soften the fabric. It worked.

Natural cellulose materials are best for eco dyeing, fabrics made of 100% hemp, linen, cotton, bamboo, jute or combination. The scarves pictured above are the results so far. The lengths of cotton were first dyed with a natural dye. Some of the plant materials I used were, spinach, onion skins, saffron, yarrow, and avocado skins. The picture below shows naturally dyed scarves with partial flower prints. As flowers bloom at different times, each pattern takes several weeks to finish as I have to wait for the flowers to bloom! Washing after printing gives the design a water colour appearance as some excess dye does wash out in the first wash.

As I progress through the summer I hope to show a few more results, the hammering process and share what worked and what didn’t. This process is such fun even if you don’t mordant the fabric. Children can print their own t shirts and pillow cases. Most of the prints, not all, will wash out if not mordanted.

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