The Mysterious Iron Blanket

I am finally figuring it all out… well almost. When I first set my sights on the magic of Eco Printing I felt like I was trying to solve some crazy secret puzzle. Now, let me make it easier for you and answer one of those common questions; the Iron Blanket.

Those who had an idea how it all worked wanted to keep it to themselves, and I understand as it could be quite the commodity; like some magic recipe. Well, I feel like I am finally understanding what is happening in and around those bundles, but I would not call myself an expert either!

What is the Iron Blanket?

I get that question quite often. It is a carrier blanket that brings iron to the fabric that you are printing on. Carriers are pieces of cotton fabric or similar material (even paper towels) that will absorb the liquid solution that you’d like to combine into your combination of colour dyes and mordants and in this case it brings the iron component.

How to Make an Iron Blanket:

When I first started to ‘make’ my iron solution I used the method of soaking rusty stuff in water with/without vinegar. The problem was that it was really difficult to see how strong the concentration was. It was quite easy and did work once I had made some test runs. Buying iron sulphate is quite inexpensive and can be found in garden centres as well. It is much easier to gauge and measure for some consistency. Having said that though I still am not so fussy with exact measurements. Generally about 1 teaspoon per gallon of water is a good starting point. It’s as easy as just letting the fabric soak for a few minutes or longer before wringing out and using. Making sure the size ‘fits’ the project is also important.

How to Use an Iron Blanket:

In this above image the iron blanket is being layered above the leaves placed on the pre-dyed (cochineal) silk. The barrier (paper or plastic) will then be placed above or below to prevent ghosting through of the prints. But those are not steadfast rules as varying can make for some amazing results!

What does the Iron Blanket do?

After the processing of either simmering or steaming or my ‘alternate’ processing the unrolling is quite interesting… Notice the way that the leaves have very defined edges? As I understand that is from the tannins adhering to the metal ions and in this case it is the iron. Since the entire fabric on the right is not rich with iron it prints more around the edges where the iron and tannins meet and ‘have fun’.

There are usually pretty prints on both but quite different in style. Since the iron is absorbed into the ‘Blanket’ fabric those prints are usually quite dark and not as ‘outlined’ as the ‘host’ fabric. This allows that you can actually create 2 printed pieces at once.

I use old cotton bedsheets and often retire them to use for other purposes since they are so beautiful. This would be considered the same as only dipping the fabric in an iron solution to have the tannin rich leaves print.

Notice the difference?

The images above show the use of the same leaves however the centre ones were printed with the use of the Iron Blankets. I increased the concentration as some are quite boldly outlined. The outer samples were printed with the same processing however the leaves were just dipped in the iron solution (no ‘blanket’ used).

In this case the dye colour actually printed back from the main fabric to create some lovely details on the Iron Blanket. Often multiple use will also give them much depth.

So many…

After having printed so many (yes I am a bit obsessed when I am determined) I amassed so many in varying tones. That gave me the idea to use them in a quilt. I understand that iron (especially overuse) can degrade the fabric over time but I still wonder if we are talking 50 or 100 hundred years?!

Make something with the Iron Blankets!

The variety of patterns was easy to work with as the colours seem to be made to compliment each other. This Art Quilt brings nature in with the most unique fabric prints.

Some up-cycling of leather combines with more of the ‘Iron Blankets’ to make some Eco Printed Journal Covers. Once used the blankets can be washed and used again and again building up darker prints.

I hope I have the mystery for you and have opened up your world of Eco Printing! I am open to any suggestions or comments in this evolving art form.