Welcome to a new series on this blog, called This Vs That, where we’ll compare 2 different aspects of natural dyeing. I’ll be writing about topics like wool versus cotton, fabric versus paper and steaming versus boiling. And we’ll hone in some of the benefits of one versus the other, as well as just getting […]
Natural dyeing vs Eco-printing Read More »
Well, they both have a boys name as part of their common names. They are both wonderful eco-print plants. They both show up in several of my eco-printing ebooks. But the main thing they have in common? I mix up their names all the time 😳🤦♀️ It’s honestly ridiculous. They aren’t related, they don’t look
What do herb Robert and St John’s wort have in common? Read More »
Is there anything more frustrating than spending hours carefully gathering leaves and flowers, arranging them on paper, stacking them, tying them up, cooking them … only to finally unwrap them, and get pale or no results! Ok, there are probably some more frustrating things in life 😅 But when it comes to eco-printing, it doesn’t
Troubleshooting pale paper eco-print results Read More »
Naturally dyeing eggs is such a sweet and simple Easter tradition. It’s become my yearly ritual, and I always like to experiment with new leaves or flowers or new dyestuff. And making use of what is growing around me feels like a nice way to turn this into a seasonal celebration, which is important to
Naturally dyeing easter eggs with Black Knight scabiosa Read More »
I love the bright orange eco-prints you can get from eucalyptus leaves on wool. It’s not just a matter of grabbing the closest eucalyptus leaves you can find and bunging them on some wool though. Only some species will offer up this magical colour. There are over 700 types of eucalyptus trees, and it can
Tracking down those elusive orange eco-prints Read More »
Before eco-printing or natural dyeing, it is a good idea to wash the fabric first. New fabric is often coated in waxes, oils and pectic substances that will inhibit the take up of dye. And even secondhand fabric can require pre-washing, for reasons that we will explore. Here I’ll go through a lazy method, a
How to wash or scour fabric for eco-printing and natural dyeing Read More »
I’ve been trawling through old photos for a special project I’m working on, and keep finding so many old images that are exciting me. I’ve started posting them to my Instagram page, and thought I’d also share a few here from time to time. Gumnut Magic mood board This is a mood board I made
Way back in 2016, when I had just begun selling clothes under the label Gumnut Magic, I had a lot of interest from other natural dyers about my eco-print technique. Back then people were mostly eco-printing on wool so I had a lot of questions about how I was managing to get clear, bright prints
To soak or not to soak? Read More »
My latest eco-print plant crush is tansy. This sweet herbaceous plant is in the Aster family, and is native to Eurasia. Tansy has deeply lobed, almost fern like leaves and dense round flowers with flat tops. Tansy has a lot of medicinal uses in traditional western herbalism, especially for internal parasites. It can also be
Recent experiments eco-printing with tansy Read More »
I decided to go with scrunch dyeing for the upcycled tank top from my last post. Here’s a simple video tutorial of the method – scroll down for step by step instructions. Step one: Scrunching Choose a white item of clothing to dye. Begin scrunching the top from one corner inwards. You can do a
How to scrunch dye with onion skins Read More »
