Eco-Printing on Cellulose Fiber

Eco-printing is a contact printing technique. Leaves are placed over mordanted fiber and rolled tight in a bundle. Next boiling or steaming the bundle transfers the tannins from within the leaves to the fiber.

Beginner experience.

Instruction on pre treatment (mordanting cellulose fiber) will be given and explained. However, fabric used for class will be pre-mordanted ready for use. We will experiment with four napkin sized linen pieces using different color dye blankets to transfer color over our leaf and fabric bundles. This will let us examine how different leaves are printing or acting as resists. The final print will be on a rayon scarf. The dye we will be using is Procion fiber reactive dye. The blankets are cotton fabric that has been washed several times. You can use old cotton sheets. I find that the dye blankets themselves are very beautiful and I end up saving them for other uses. Example: Quilts, linings and face masks. I like to use white Kona cotton.

Level: Beginner

Materials Fee: $30 

Instructor provides: Linen and rayon scarves pre-mordanted, handouts, dye

Registration: Members $100, Non-members $120

Instructor: Denise Arcuri bio