Imprints of Summer

Summer is finally here! it’s so amazing to be outside and enjoy the sunshine and nature. My local park was a save heaven for me during a Pandemic. Every time I took a walk there I was thinking how lucky I’m to have this place like this. New scientific research states that nature especially Forrest heals even cancer!

Like everybody else, I have a lot of time on my hands this spring. I was taking some classes online and started going in-depth in my eco-printing, but it’s hard to practice when no flowers and leaves around.

So this time is finally now! even though it’s better to collect leaves at their peak, at the end of the summer when it is filled with juices and colors. But some flowers are so gentle and quick to bloom so time is precious!

Light pink rosehip is covered with a sweet aroma when flowers are blooming! The best time to collect it is morning before 11 am, or afternoon after 4 pm on a grey day, because on sunny days you will find a lot of bees working there. You can collect the leaves too, go for darker leaves, it is filled with tannin. Try to collect flowers on the day you are ready to print because it’s very fragile.

After collecting our “material ” for printing we can prepare a space for work. Because I made a scarf I use a table long enough to place my fabric flat. Place a clear plastic wrap first, if needed make double the width of your fabric. Gently opening flowers and strengthening leaves place it faces down to a scarf, which you should be washed before and dyed if you wish. I try to use natural colors like tea, avocado, and onion skin because it would help leaves to release a tannin into a fabric.

The next step after covering a surface of the fabric with plants -take long enough cheesecloth to cover an entire fabric or use pieces, but this may create various effects on different parts of your project. Prepare an “iron” solution mixing 1% Ferrous Sulfate of the fabric weight with a quart of water mixing it well. Please, use gloves when are you dipping a cheesecloth in the solution, iron will make your hands darker. Spread it evenly covering your original fabric.

Now we have to make a tight bundle -because most of my projects are pretty wide I use a piece of regular garden hose. It’s pretty flimsy by itself that is why I use any sturdy metal stick inside of the hose. With sturdy pressure I’ll roll the fabric to the hose, strengthening leaves and flowers in the process.

Next step -  we use any kind of rope to tighten our bundle, even more, to apply even pressure to create better imprints of your plants. After you did remove a metal stick from the hose, so you can bend your bundle and fit it in the pot you are using to “cook” fabric. The project should be above the water and have enough steam to help plants to release tannin. I place a couple of big rocks on the bottom of the pot to make sure that water wouldn’t evaporate too quickly and a metal steaming basket. We are going to “cook ‘this bundle for a couple of hours at medium-low heat.

I know it’s hard to wait and you would want to open your bundle right away! But try to wait till it’s cool off, or even longer, you need to let those colors settle down. Don’t wash your fabric right away, maybe in a couple of days, you can gently rinse it with mild soap in the cold water.

Eco printing is a magical process! you don’t know what are you going to get, even with the same recipe.

Be open and experiment and most importantly enjoy the process!