Resist Method of Eco Printing

Once you are an Eco printer you look at the garden in a different way. Oh my, what amazing shapes came sprouting up with all the rain we’ve had this year! Perfect for the Resist Method of Eco Printing… mind boggling.

The Amazing shapes:

I’ve always marvelled when the fiddleheads come up and unroll to produce such intricate foliage. I’ve tried to print with these before but they don’t carry much tannin to just print with some iron, too bad! But, as a resist the work great since they act as ‘blocks’ to stop all the fabric from changing colour; thus making the shapes.

But I had another idea; since I’ve discovered some amazing ways to use Myrobalan. This method will use the great details in a different way.

Myrobalan Linen & Iron:

I have found some nice medium weight linen which has a courser texture than my usual print fabric. I have been using the Aluminum Acetate lately to mordant my cellulose fibres but I was in one of those frenzies… I just like to through caution to wind sometimes and skipped the mordant stage this time. It will be interesting to see if there is any difference.

My tests with Myrobalan have shown how strong the attraction of the iron is to the Myrobalan, so let’s test how well they really do! I like to have a purpose for my printing so this was planned to become a garment; meaning that I needed a larger piece of fabric…arghhh. (Note the golden tone of the Myrobalan dyed linen)

It’s odd how the trees have been behaving lately, dropping many many maple keys! My ‘crazy artist brain’ doesn’t just see them as some seeds on the ground but shapes that look like ‘small birds flying’; how novel! Here’s to some haphazard placement of the ferns and thrown maple keys fresh from the morning doggie walk onto the damp freshly Myrobalan dyed Linen.

Go big or go home:

I’d say the hardest thing is working with such a large piece; about 2 yards and 36″ wide. To be able to roll it on something that long I used a flexible hose that allowed a steel rod (old curtain rod) inserted inside to keep it straight during bundling.

Since this method uses the contact of the previously Myrobalan dyed fabric to the Iron Blanket I also needed a large blanket or combination of smaller ones to cover. To prevent bleed-through I use a barrier (large piece of thin plastic drop sheet) on top.

To get the best clear prints be careful to not have the fabric and ‘blanket’ too wet. I hand wring them as much as I can. The usual tying is as tight as I can (I have a trick; ‘will post soon) again, so that the leaves are making good contact.

After the bundle is all tied the rod can then be pulled out and it can be forced to curve. I process my bundles in a small space so I needed to reduce the overall size and length.

Odd processing I know:

I know it’s a bit unconventional but I use a microwave to process as I find it has given me results as good as the hours of steaming I used to do. (You do however need to be cautious and aware). I wrap the bundle in wet wool blanket scraps to maintain a wet environment and encase it in plastic bags. I heat with small bursts of a minute or 2 and turn them. I don’t let them burst but they do reach close to boiling. Once hot I let it further process under a thick layering of blankets and it holds heat for hours. I can give it a few additional bursts or not. The length of insulation time does really aid in the whole process and save so much energy, not to mention I can go do other stuff!

Always the fun Part!

After a few hours of sitting (or even over night) comes the exciting reveal. How happy I was with the strong prints! I did use a pretty strong solution of the Myrobalan to dye the linen and a fairly strong iron solution. That’s how I roll…

Lovely Linen:

The heavy linen threads so show the texture nicely but also accept the dye details. I was amazed at how the prints did not get distorted with the bending of the bundle too! The ferns and keys don’t really bring any colour of their own, only acting as shape resists. That opens up so many possibilities of materials and matter!

I do sew a lot but tend to keep it really simple. I have some traced patterns and just adjust according to my mood/style. Since linen is quite stiff I used it on the bias to allow for stretch and better flow.

Wear it with Pride:

Notice the slightly darker line? The iron blanket pieces can show some difference in iron amounts, thus a darker line.

Look at the interesting designs made with the haphazard placement and the ‘birds’ playing in the sky! How amazing this Resist Method Eco Printing is! I love it and can’t wait to wear it!