Eucalyptus is a substantive dye source ie does not need a mordant and I am beginning to focus on this as an asset. The research into nettles has made me realise that I can achieve a range of colour tones by using parts of the plant, seasons and use of a hot and a cold dye bath. The dye baths made so far are from 2tree sources and 2 parts of the tree ie leaves and bark.
I am using silk scarves for my trials as well as wool delaine to record the narrative of the dye bath. The wool samples are a very different colour range and the results make me reflect on their application. Anyway there were 3 outcomes from my dyeing session because I also used the bark from the West Stow tree which had been soaking for several weeks. But I made sure that India Flint's method was followed closely.
There were 3 shades of a creamy orange which were quite pleasing but still not a distinct orange, I may post a comment on the Wild Dyery site to see if anyone can suggest how to achieve an orange.
Unfortunately the images do not do justice to the colours but when I researched blackberries the colours were very pleasing ........
From left to right : Frozen berries with no heat
Fresh berries hot
Fresh berries no heat
Cuttings of leaves and stem soaked for a week hot dye bath
These colours have related to some shots of the ploughed field after a fall of snow and I want to work an developing images/designs from these photos and use the blackberry colours. I think the snow images would also work with wool and indigo.
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