Create a unique, hand-printed silk scarf using natural dyestuffs and leaves gathered from your garden or hedgerow!
If you are new to natural dyeing our starter kits are an ideal way to begin. Our Just Add Leaves! kit includes your choice of natural dyestuff, mordants (fixers) for silk and animal fibres, two colour modifiers, an accessory pack and full instructions. All you need to add is some basic household equipment and water.
I designed this kit specifically for natural dyers who want to explore the fascinating technique of contact or eco-printing. This technique uses fresh leaves gathered from your garden or hedgerow that are laid on your scarf, folded/wrapped/tied and then dyed. You can also use the colour modifiers to create overlay prints, extend the colour range and produce stunning patterns on your silk scarf.
What is in the kit?
We include all the essentials to make your hand-printed scarf. Our kit includes:
- A beautiful habotai scarf
- One natural dyestuff of your choice
- 125g of aluminium potassium (alum) mordant
- 100g ferrous sulphate (colour modifier)
- 125g citric acid (for rusting found items for printing)
- 10m cotton cord (for tying for resist and for embellishing)
- Elastic bands for wrapping and resist effects
- Steel tube (for optimum results when pole wrapping)
- Accessory pack of gloves and a measuring spoon
- A comprehensive instruction booklet written by Debbie specially for this kit
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You can achieve lots of colours from your kit but to extend your experiments combine or mix your dyestuff with our natural extracts (available separately) to create rich, vibrant shades, pastels and muted tones.
Who is this kit suitable for?
I’ve designed this kit to suit a complete beginner as well as offering lots of scope for experimentation for more experienced dyers.
What else will I need?
Just some basic equipment most of which you may already have. Please note that any utensils/dishes used for dyeing should not be used for cooking food afterwards:
- A pan, dish, bucket or oven tray for dyeing your scarf
- Clingfilm or plastic to wrap your scarf in to fix
- Cloths and something to cover surfaces
- A couple of plastic beakers (or old cups) for mixing dyes
- Stirring spoon or stick
- Measuring jug
- Optional items:
• Small objects like marbles, pebbles, bottle caps, for tying string round to create interesting shapes
• Notebook – for recording your methods and results for use in future projects
(p.s. There’s plenty of fixer and dye in the kit for an extra scarf or two and you can order extra silk scarves or our cotton tote bags to go with your kit)
