I have just stumbled across a new form of fabric dying which is using flower petals and leaves from plants and letting the heat from the steam pass through the fabric and object applied to lightly dye the surface of the fabric. This then in turn should leave a clear representation of the flower or leave used. You can arrange the flowers and leaves in any way you wish to create a planned pattern or a random one.
I have given it a go and I am loving the results as they are almost instant. I have left the fabric to steam in the pot for around fifteen to twenty minutes and I have found that this gives good enough results. Sometimes the flowers and leaves can come out slightly faded but I believe this adds to the idea of linking to a memory and a pst time. The memory might be slightly faded so the desired pattern on the surface can be also.
For this trial I used Grape Hyacinth, something which brings back fond memories of bing in my grandparents garden as they had large banks of surrounding a tree at the bottom of the garden. I was over joyed with the outcome especially as it was my first time ever trying steam dying.
The process is far quicker compared to my other chosen dyeing method as this takes about an hour at most meaning the collaborators can have a break half way though to allow for drying time.
I also tried yellow tulips that had been cut at easter time and also some ferns that were part of a floral display these gave a far more subtle tone on the fabric.
As you can see the results weren’t the messed although I like the subtlety that it gives as if it were a faded memory. The wooden stick has slightly brunt the fabric in the image on the left and I really like this mark as it shows the natural processes.