# 101 dye textiles


On our trip to Lazarim, my eye caught trees covered in with lichens (a fungus). This post immediately came to mind and we stopped the car to pick up a bag full. Two days later the lichens were tossed into a pan and boiled for about an hour, after which I stained the water, put a piece of white linen and boiled slowly for about  another hour. It led out a strong earthy smell. I did this rather instinctively, without a mordant and without much knowledge of textile dyeing techniques, so the piece of linen came out in a raw beige color. 

before and after
What I'm really looking for is a way to dye linen in greys and blues! I bought some potassium ferricyanide crystals or Prussian Blue, (it's the blue in the cyanotype process), but I haven't found much information on it's ability to dye textiles. I think I'll just do the same: toss it in a pot and see what comes out!

3 comments:

  1. Uma minhas preferidas é o indigo feito com extracto da "indigofera tinctoria" dá um azul lindo, profundo que eu adorava nos tecidos africanos. Olha aqui :
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/zagara/3282173711/

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  2. obrigada vera! os cianótipos também têm um azul muito intenso e dão para fazer sobre tecidos. O problema é que me falta um dos químicos para fazer o processo. Com a "crise" muitas das empresas que forneciam químicos e as respectivas drogarias fecharam.... estou à procura

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  3. já experimentaste com mirtilo para os azuis? (e sal para fixar a cor) :)

    beijinhos

    Joana

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