WARDROBE REFRESH #4
Last night I dreamt about natural dyeing. Stirring big black pots of coloured liquid with fabric swirling all around. To be fair, before I fell asleep I was looking up information on logwood. Logwood is my favourite natural dye, it gives you shades of black, grey, purple and everything in between. Right now, I am in love with all of those colours. I can’t get enough.
I don’t have a “before” photo, but this button-down shirt used to be white. It’s just a simple fitted cotton shirt from Abercrombie. The problem was that it got some mysterious yellow stains after a washing that made it unwearable. Rather than toss it, I kept it hoping that someday I might be able to revive it back to life.
The second run of our Natural Dyeing class just finished and we had a logwood dyebath just hanging out at the workroom. After mordanting the shirt, I dropped it into the pot for a half hour. The resulting colour is a subtle greyish lavender and now the shirt is back in my closet.
I’ve been thinking about doing a quilt from natural dyed fabrics. There is something so incredible and rich about fabrics that are natural dyed. Even the slight unevenness of the colour adds to the charm.
I’d love to do a quilt with all different shades of logwood and a bit of pink cochineal thrown in. I’ve started a list of future quilt projects I hope to tackle. I have a feeling this list is going to grow quickly. You’ll find it at the bottom of My Crafty List of Things to Do.
9 comments
Hey Karyn! that’s brilliant! hmmm I have a blue shirt that got kakked up at the drycleaner… maybe there’s a way to save it. If not by dyeing then by embellishment of some kind. I was so mad, I only wore it 5x.
Love that Maisy peering out at us too!
Beautiful!
Last night I dreamt I was microwaving all my shoes. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any crafty potential there.
I have been wanting to make a quilt out of all dyed fabrics. I wanted to try some shibori techniques. I bought a ton of muslin just waiting! If it turns out I’ll let you know! I love your blog.
I stumbled across your blog recently and have quickly fallen for your lovely photos and regular inspiration. Your ‘new again’ blouse is no exception – isn’t it wonderful finding a new life for something hiding in the closet.
Maisy! I pat you from afar!
This is a delicate and beautiful colour – I love it. And your photographs are stunning too.
Did the stains end up dyeing differently or have they become part of the overall dye pattern?
I used to have a plan to make a quilt with fabric dyed with all sorts of teas, hoping for a very neat palette. However, I have NO idea whether these tea-dyes would hold up to UV light and washing…