Top up with water that is around 40ºC enough to just cover the fabrics.
(Aluminium triformate should not be heated more than that
Pre-wet the previously mordanted strips in cold water plenty of time ahead, or store them still moist for a few days in the fridge.
bout Barriers
If you simply roll a mordanted fabric and leaves, the leaves will print through the different layers creating ‘echo’s’ of leaves across the fabric which gives a muddy appearance.
Using a barrier avoids seeping pigments in your bundle.
Some people use single use plastic foil or cling wrap to create a barrier, I want to highly discourage you from doing this. I see no justification in trawling away two yards of single use plastic for each scarf you are making.
Instead, you can use brown packing paper, white A4 printing paper sheets (and re-use them for packaging, tags etc) or baking paper.
I myself have a lot of thicker plastic sheeting in the studio that arrives with fabric rolls Iorder. I re-use those sheets almost endlessly with big success. If you are using plastic as a barrier, do a small test how it holds up in hot water by pouring some boiling water over it, if it melts, you should not use it for your bundles. Supermarket bags are usually like this and I do not recommend them at all.
Fabric as a barrier: you can use thicker, slightly stretchy fabric as a barrier (on top of other blankets you are using). This does make the bundle thicker and harder to handle
- Take your alum mordanted fabric and squeeze until only most to the touch. Fabric should not be wet.
- Lay out your fabric on a table and remove any creases.
- Stretch out a bit if possible.
- Lay all leaves front side facing fabric
Cover with a barrier of your choice
How to roll & tie a bundle
- Take a dowel or heat resistant pipe that is at least the width of your fabric.
- Align with the end of your bundle and tuck in the end of the fabric tightly.
- Roll while pushing, as tight as possible.
- If you feel there is still some ‘spring’ in the bundle, it is not tight enough.
- Tie your rope in the middle.
- tie rope to the right, in the same direction as your fabric.
- Keep around a finger width between coils.
- At the right, flip your bundle and continue coiling to the other end, and back to the middle again
Heating your bundle
The principles of botanical printing works like this; Fabric + Leaves + Moisture + Pressure + Heat. = Botanical Print on Fabric.
You ‘can’ heat your bundle in the full sun for a day, or even in the microwave. We use steam, or boiling water.
A large chafing dish insert is a great investment, that I would not skimp on. Mine is used for scouring, mordanting, dyeing and can easily hold 6 botanical bundles.
Steam is hotter than boiling water, which makes it the most fail proof way to heat your bundles and also the most eco-conscious because you only have to heat up a small quantity of water. I heat my bundles for 60-90 minutes, and when I am working with eucalyptus often 90-120 minues, as they just become a lot lovelier in time
Snip the rope in the middle, and unwind (we keep the rope for repeated use), remove the leaves.
I do leave my botanical printed textile to dry for 24 hours before I wash them with a gentle ph neutral soap.
Dishwashing soap is better than regular washing powder which is alkaline!
You will notice how tannins react to copper and ferrous sulfate, and how alum reacts to flavonoids (yellows) in the leaves. sometimes alum alone does not work…. is it that there is not enough flavonoid?
You will see black dots at the ends of some leaves, we call this a tannin burst.
If your print is very blurry your fabric may have been too wet.
If your print is very vague, you may have rolled too loosely.
Prints with lots of white: fabrics too dry or not enough contact in the bundle.
NEED FE OR CU BLANKETS….
Riverview Arts 