Eucalypts cover over 75% of native forest in Australia and every state has their own representative species, from tropical to temperate climates.
As a Eucalypt Australia Dahl Fellow for 2022, my work is to create a Eucalyptus Colour Map of Australia. Its almost impossible to drive for more than a few minutes without passing a Eucalyptus tree in Australia! This makes them accessible to everyone, whether you love or hate them!
To celebrate National Eucalypt Day on the 23rd March, Ive written a simple tutorial of how to achieve colours from eucalyptus leaves. This is a technique I am using to create my colours on fabric. Natural dyeing is universal and there are many different methods and techniques to achieve colour. This technique I use is one that I have been taught and still practiced in Laos and Southeast Asia (and many parts of the world) today. There would be no electricity or gas so on an open fire pit it would be and produces the best results.
For this tutorial I have decided to use Eucalyptus cinerea or the ‘silver dollar’ that seems to be a favourite in all natural dye classes. The leaves are silver grey in colour and round or heart shaped but the mature leaves are longer and spear shaped.
Eucalypts like many other leaves, contain a lot of oils and tannins and no mordant or fixer is needed. Anthocyanins are the pigments in leaves and fruits that give them their colours. You will see here after half an hour the yellow is released first.
NOTE : Every eucalyptus will produce a different colour. Yes, every single variety of eucalyptus! If you haven’t achieved a colour, this is most likely the result of water not boiling or not left in the pot long enough. Remember, eucalyptus leaves are made tough! They have to withstand some of the harshest environments on earth here in Australia! The colours don't release for almost an hour after boiling for some of the more dense leaves.
You can use fresh or dried leaves.
Please note this is a simple tutorial to extract colour and I will not discuss other methods to shift colours here.
You may want to premordant cellulose ( cotton, linen hemp etc) The cottons, linens and hemps I have used were soaked in 100grams Acacia Rubida overnight.
Equipment/Materials
100grams (at least) of Eucalyptus leaves fresh or dried. You can add more leaves if you wish to achieve darker colours.
A stainless steel pot with lid
Tongs
Gloves (optional)
Water (tap or rainwater)
Electric or Gas stove but fire pit is best!
Fabric pieces, yarn or old clothes you wish to dye. 100 grams of dye will dye up to 250 grams. I have calico, cotton, silk, wool, hemp, linen and wool yarn.
For cottons I would use at least 300 grams of leaves.
For this tutorial I have used 200grams of fresh leaves.
Step 1
Pluck and wash the leaves and place them into the pot.
Step 2
Cover the leaves with enough water to make sure the leaves are submerged.
Step 3
Place the lid on and bring the pot to boil. Once the pot begins to boil turn the heat down and allow the pot to simmer for an hour. You should see the a colour change in the water and dyes and pigment releasing.
Here, I have thrown the fabrics in the dye pot. As they are not precious and will be used for various small projects.
If this was for a custom order. I would allow the pot to simmer for at least an hour before straining liquid and removing the leaves.
Step 4
If you throw in your fabric make sure to stir to make sure fabric and leaves are submerged or floating. This will ensure the fabric absorbs the dye evenly. If the fabric has clumped or folded, there will be discolouring, blotchy and cause the colour on the fabric to be uneven.
If you decide not to throw in your fabric, I suggest simmer for another half hour and add water to ensure the leaves and fabric are always submerged and then strain the leaves to have a liquid only. Then you can place in your fabrics.
DO NOT THROW OUT THE LEAVES!
Step 5
Once you have removed the leaves and impurities from the dye pot, add your fabric and simmer for another hour.
Check the fabric colour, did you achieve the desired result? If not you can boil a bit longer.
What my Natural dye Masters have taught me was to always leave everything in the pot overnight. Just like a good casserole or curry, everything is better the next day! This certainly is true for dyes.
Below, you see the results on cotton to the left, silk in the middle and the wool is a deep red.
Step 6
Remove your fabrics and yarn. Rinse under water and leave out to dry.
If your results were uneven, there was not enough space in the pot for the fabric to absorb evenly. When this happens, I will place the fabric back in the pot. This will be mean a darker shade as it will go on the pot for another hour of simmering.
Step 7
For those of you who dont have easy access to eucalyptus leaves, you can reuse the leaves for up to another two dye baths. However, the colour won’t be as strong. For cottons, I would allow to simmer for another hour.
Have a go and let me know how the results. Dont give up!
You can purchase Cinerea in Natural Dyes.
Cellulose Fibres and Yarn
In the image below you see some linen yarn in the dye pot. For this result, the natural un-mordanted yarn was simmered for three hours and left overnight.
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There is a lot of discussion about the amount of textile waste going to landfill. Before the introduction of mass produced items, we had to make everything from scratch, mend and recycle purely out of necessity. Many of us are working towards more sustainable practices and natural dyeing, recycling, up cycling textiles is one way to re-decorate without having to buy new cushions and fabric.
The pieces have been dyed using local eucalyptus leaves, bark harvested in my neighbourhood, onion skin and flowers from my garden.
If you aren’t a sewer, the charity and secondhand stores often have a good selection of cushions for a few dollars. You can give them a new life by creating patchworks and stitching over the top of an old one.
Please remember, there is not one particular way of doing this patchwork, it is all about your personal choice and style.
Step 1
Gather and select your dyed fabric and remnants. For the tutorial, I have selected eucalyptus and natural dyed fabrics of cotton, hemp, linen, silk and wool. There are pieces of preloved Indian sari and hand woven Lao textiles in an earthy colour palette, but you can choose what ever colours you wish.
Step 2
In the image below you will notice that I have cut out calico that is the size and shape of my cushion. I will then arrange my pieces to fit the rectangular fabric. The piece of calico will make it easier for me to place t the fabric scraps onto. When I'm finished I will simply lift the single piece and sew it on top of the cushion cover.
In the image below, I have folded and ironed some of the pieced so the threads will not unravel but also to mix up the design and texture of the cushion cover.
A close up of folded and ironed silk squares.
Step 3
Place the pieces on to the calico and arrange into pattern or composition that you are happy with. Pin the fabric together to hold it in place and it is ready for stitching. Another option is to sew the fabric in place loosely and remove the thread afterwards.
Step 4
This is the linen cushion cover that Im using to give it a new life. The calico from the image above in Step 3 will be lifted on top of the linen cushion cover.
Step 5
Now that the piece of calico with my fabric design has been placed on top of the linen, it is ready for stitching. You will see in the image below that a wooden board has been placed in between the fabric. This is to stop the cushion being sewn together! Now to start! Find a corner and begin stitching the pieces together. I have only used the simple running stitch. I am using several types of thread for the stitching, cotton/silk blend thread, sashiko thread and wool thread.
Step 6
The stitching is almost complete. The loose threads have been cut. An insert is placed inside to show where bubbles and faults may be seen, Make sure the edges have been stitched to firmly hold the fabric in place.
The finished product! Gently iron once you have finished for an even surface and cut off any loose threads. Place a cushion insert inside and its ready for the world.
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Natural dyes and Preservation Methods
My natural dyes journey began in 2002 when I wandered into the yard of some weavers in a village in the north of Laos. At the time, I was consultant doing research for UNICEF.
This was a life changing moment, while watching the skilful hands moving through the warp and weft that I began a deep appreciation of the labour that went into weaving such beautiful pieces.
I then spent the next three years learning about the traditional craft of natural dyeing with several master weavers and dyers whose knowledge had been passed down to them from their mothers over many generations.
Something that fascinated me while visiting the ethnic hill tribe markets in Laos and Chinatown was seeing the displays of herbal medicines and tinctures.
The hill tribes were mostly Hmong people who had traveled down to Vientiane from where they lived in high altitude. Their markets were random makeshift stalls, always located outside the regular markets. Everything about these tribes people was interesting for me. They wore traditional clothing that was handmade and carried their babies in beautiful hand embroidered cottons and hemps. They spoke their own language so we couldn’t communicate unless someone could speak Lao. The products they were selling at the time were probably illegal or endangered animals that they believed could heal ailments. There were small bottles that had gecko like creatures floating in homemade alcohol that could literally knock your socks off as the alcohol content was more than forty percent!
On trips to Bangkok, I would visit Chinatown for the experience but also in search for antique clothing to try and replicate the intricate appliqués.
There were many stores selling traditional Chinese herbal Medicines. They would have huge jars with herbal roots of medicinal plants or venomous snake preserved in alcohol. The stores were of course much more organised than those of the ethnic markets with dried herbal roots wrapped in bundles, parts of animals such as whole snakes, in jars and bottles steeped in alcohol.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, therapeutic tinctures are often made by using alcohol as a solvent to extract the active ingredients of plants and allow them to keep for a longer period of time. The herbs which are carefully selected are steeped in the alcohol for some time before use.
The liquids in the jars and bottles were of different shades and over the years that I learned natural dyeing techniques, Khaisy, my weaving and dyeing teacher would add bottles of locally produced alcohol. She would tell me that it helped to fix the colours.
I asked her if she had ever placed fabric in the jars with alcohol and dye stuff to which she said no because she could make alcohol herself.
So I took this fascination of the preserved herbs in alcohol and have been experimenting ever since.
When I returned home to Australia I made contact with professional chemists and biologists to understand what alcohol does and how it reacts with plants and animals.
For preservation and tinctures, alcohol is an excellent solvent for herbs, because it can extract the compounds and active ingredients that aren’t water-soluble, such as essential oils, alkaloids, pigments and resins. It’s also the only edible solvent that can effectively extract the ingredients required.
Alcohol is a preservative and gives herbal extracts a longer shelf-life. Some of the herbs in jars had been there for almost fifty years!
Alcohol is the best preservative as they last for years! A good old whisky can outlive a human and it doesn’t freeze.
Today, we are constantly being told to restrict alcohol as too much is not good for our health.
Another preservation method I use for dyeing is the simple pickling technique. Pickling is one of the oldest preservation methods for extending the life of food, in a brine or vinegar.
Here, Im going to share two simple preservation methods that I have been using to create colours for small pieces fabric scraps and some food waste.
Please note:
I have repeated and tested the techniques hundreds of times and created products for homewares without any problem. However, the pinks created from the dyes in the samples are used for patchwork or products such as cushion covers or decorative items that will not be washed frequently. If you want to dye clothing, use different techniques with more substantive dyes.
Materials needed:
Glass Jars
Salt
left over white wine or alcohol
water
pieces of fabric, must be natural fibres: cotton, linen, silk, wool
Dyes:
Fresh or dried flowers with dark colours such as dark red geranium, hollyhock, red rose petals, dahlia’s.
Food waste: onion skins brown and red, decaying berries, passionfruit skins, purple carrots.
Gather all your equipment, materials and dyes you will be using. For the salty water brine method, any salt can be used.
In image 1 - Im using sterilised old jam jars. In one jar, I have placed two heads of red rose petals and in the other, some onion skin, roughly skin of six whole onions.
Image 2 - Place fabric scraps or material in the jar
Image 3 - For the rose petals, I have poured in old white wine that had been sitting in the fridge for weeks.
For the onion skin, pour in boiling kettle water and make sure the contents are submerged. If there is fabric above the liquid this will create markings and uneven colour. Add a tablespoon of salt in the jar of onion skin jar. The salt helps keep bacteria from propagating.
Image 4 - Place the lids on tightly and store in a cool dark place or the refrigerator if you have space.
For best results, allow for at least three weeks before opening the jar. Please note that if you do these experiments in ( Australian ) summer, it is ideal to check on the jars as sometimes mould can form inside the jars containing brine liquid ( salty water).
Image 5 - Onion skin results, on silk, linen, hemp and wool. Each fibre absorbs in colour differently.
Image 6 - A jar of red rose petals in white wine that has been sitting in the fridge for over one year. Rinse under cold water and allow to dry in the shade.
Once dried, iron and the fabric is ready for your projects. The image below are double petal hollyhocks in brine for three weeks. The patchwork was made into a cushion.
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The iron can be added to bundle dyes and after you have unwrapped the bundles, the colours can be shifted by dipping the fabric into the iron water bath. This will darken the colours.
I also use the iron water as a pre mordant for leaves that I will later use in eco printing. This helps significantly with achieving clearer prints on cellulose fibres.
There are many variations and versions of iron water recipe. This iron water recipe is a lot weaker than many I have seen. From my experience, when iron water looks very rusty, it may eat away at the fabric especially wool. There is less chance to achieve charcoals, greys and blacks on fabric when the iron water is too rusty. The fabric will simply look rusty!
Once you have made the iron water, it is best to leave the bucket at least overnight. If you wanting to print leaves, place your leaves in the iron water solution. When the iron water solution changes to a grey or black, this is a good sign and will give prints on cellulose fibres such as cotton and linens without much effort. This will take at least three days.
Water from our taps contain traces of iron and manganese. When these elements combine with oxygen and become less soluble forms. They have changed from a colourless, dissolved form to a coloured solid form.
The oxidised forms remain in the water, giving it a black tint and attaching itself to the leaves and fabric that is left soaking in the solution.
Materials needed :
A bucket or pot
some metal pieces it could be iron, a can, some nails
any vinegar
water
Gather some metal objects and things that you can find, including nails, rusted metals. Place in a bucket. In this image the metal objects weigh around 100grams.
Add vinegar, here I have added white vinegar from the supermarket. Pour the vinegar in the bucket and make sure the objects are submerged in the liquid.
Next, fill the bucket with water a little more than half way. The ratio should be around 1:4.
I added a bunch of the eucalyptus and will allow it to soak in the water until it turns grey in colour and eventually black. This is when the leaves are perfect to use as leaf prints on cellulose fibres such as cotton and linens.
This is an iron water bucket that was made in early January 2021. I keep adding and removing leaves for bundle dyes. I also leave fabric in this bucket for when I want to create greys and blacks on cottons and linens.
Some dyed fabric that has been left soaking in the iron water bath to shift the colour or to achieve dark charcoal greys.
]]>It has been a long time in between sharing anything here. I have been asked many times how to create this effect on textiles. This tutorial was first written for Peppermint magazine in 2018.
All photos by Canberra based photographer Lorna Sim
Have a go and let me know what you think.
Flower/Leaf pounding technique
I use this technique when there are flowers and petals in the garden that are so pretty but there is not enough of them to be able to extract a colour. So the next best thing is to be able to preserve them intact, a print, just as you see them. Sometimes the result is even better than the flower because there may be some patterns and colours hidden that the naked eye is unable to see. There can also be another element of surprise where after pounding, a completely different colour appears.
This technique is also a fun introduction for children to learn and appreciate the art of Natural Dyes where the results are instant.
You can choose any flower or leaf that is in your garden or neighbourhood. Since there are so many flowers and plants that I have not used and that are available to you right now but not me, it is best to do a small sample or test what works best. I have found that all yellow flowers eventually fade and most dark flowers work best for this technique.
Materials needed
For this method, a thick cotton or linen fabrics works best. If you want to mordant fabric, checkout Rebecca Desnos’s soy milk directions. You can also pre soak your fabric in a bucket of 1/4 vinegar and 3/4 water solution. Leave for 30 minutes before removing and allowing to dry.
- Two pieces of cotton/linen fabric. A good weight silk fabric can also be used.
- Medium size mallet or hammer
- Large wooden board/ cardboard placed underneath fabric. Never place fabric directly on concrete as you will create holes in the cloth.
- Flowers – before starting, tear flower petals with your fingers to check if the colour stains. If not, there will be no colour. Leaves – such as rose leaves, tomato leaves, sage, maple, ferns. There are different plants for different climates – test your local flora to see which ones work best for you.
Instructions
Place the fabric onto the wooden board, and then add the leaves and petals to the fabric.
Cover the piece of fabric with another piece of cotton or fold the fabric in half so that when you pound the leaves it will protect your work. If you fold the fabric in half and use one side, it will create a mirror image of the pattern on the other side of your fabric.
Pound each leaf under the cotton to reveal the print.
Keep going until you have finished with the desired look. You will have print on both fabrics.
Do not pick off the leaves and flowers while they are still wet as this can cause smudging of design and colours.
Leave to dry for at least 24 hours.
Shake to remove dried petals, and then iron to seal the dye and colour.
Step 1
Step two
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9 - the reveal!
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