The Studio Tour starts in a week! I am the great procrastinator floating along like I have all the time in the world. So I gave us a kick in the butt to get the last few natural printed gauze scarves ready for the tour. We collected leaves a few days ago for the project, fresh and not dead fall. I guess a purist would cringe at that, but I am a Master Gardener and proper pruning was used so no trees or bushes were harmed.
We used combinations of leaves and mordants. A couple of the scarves were failed projects but the way this dyeing goes, they just added layers of mordant to get these fantastic results. I think I know which were the red cabbage blah results but I’m not certain. We were worried that the loose weave of the cotton gauze wouldn’t get good results. We could not be happier with this batch. Of course we would never be able to exactly replicate any of them, but that is what’s fun and exciting about this process. I am linking to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com
Janice Paine Dawes, Artist 
These fabrics are beautiful. I would be thrilled to use any of them in a quilt.
Thank you Chris! There is always one problem with fabric like this…it is hard to part with it.
Beautiful! Are these undyed from Dharma? What size? Do you like the quality? I am so inspired to play!
Oh. I made the scarf lengths by recycling a crinkled cotton gauze window scarf. It was 45 inches wide and 225 inches long. It made a LOT of shawls and scarves.
Lucky resourceful you! Did you keep it all unhemmed then with no problem? I am going to look for a used gauze window scarf so I can play and fail and play some more!
The first ones I made I hand rolled the hems….NOT going to do that again, way too labor intensive. An exhaustive online search showed that raw edges are not only acceptable but seem to be the norm. Things change with the times. Just look at the ripped jeans today!!!
I just read your wabi-sabi essay.. “Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace liver spots, rust, and frayed edges, and the march of time they represent.” YAY for unhemmed frayed edges!
Yep, thats me alright a little worn and frayed around the edges! Seriously, I have tried to observe wabi sabi principles for a few years. Pair it with the Slow Movement and it opens new doors.
Wow! You got great results. Years ago I dyed fabric using black walnut hulls, nuts and leaves. I used different mordants and put them in plastic pails in the garage for a couple of weeks, giving them a stir once in awhile. I got some good results and years later I used them in a quilt that I called, “Oh, Nuts”. It was the first quilt I ever entered into Houston and it got in.
I love the way the leaves showed on yours. Have fun with them.
Do you have that one on your site Norma? I would love to see it. The reason we all play with different techniques is to find one that resonates with us. This is one that continues to keep me excited and engaged in the art.