Carrier Blankets in Eco Printing
It’s sometimes so confusing how all this comes together in Eco Printing and how many different ways that it can be combined. Whaaaat? Yes, I know; let me help you figure it out just a little more using carrier blankets in Eco Printing.
What is a Carrier Blanket?
Do you remember when you were trying to figure out what an iron blanket was!? Well, this is like that but it does not bring the iron this time; it brings another element to the mix. Most often it would bring a natural dye (maybe even another dye) or a tannin to the print fabric. This carrier piece of fabric is not meant to permanently hold whatever it’s adding, but to transfer it. I often like to use an old cotton flannel sheet as the carrier blankets since they are quite absorbent and have already lost their lint.
The carrier blanket should not be mordanted as this would make it ‘keep’ any dye to itself. These carrier blankets can be dipped or soaked in a natural dye and give quite a different effect than the use of the iron blanket.
Another way to use the carrier blanket is to soak it in some form of a tannin. The receptive print fabric would then be dipped/soaked in iron. This method was discovered accidentally by Irit Dulman when there was a confusion of solutions in her workshop. It’s great when accidents invent new things!
Things to note:
When switching the carrier and the iron application (as above) the leaves will be quite shadowed and silhouetted; any heavy tannin leaf specie will also print dark since the fabric is dipped in iron, which is different than the iron blanket.
Understanding ‘the where’ and ‘the why’ of effects will start to give you a bit more control of what you can expect. At least that’s what we hope…
Generally I tend to use the ‘sun side’ down so that details are lighter. But as you probably already know there are times when it just does what it wants.
This silk is dipped in an iron solution (somewhat weak) and then the cotton flannel carrier blanket was a quite concentrated logwood dye.
It’s always helpful to see the before and after, to see which sides of leaves were used. The sumac is a very reliable printer so it brought quite a bit of colour.
Imagine how a cochineal or madder blanket could add colour and design?! There’s really no limit, even mixing multiple kinds against each other, something a pre-dye could not do. It’s NOT following rules that gives new interesting results. Give it a go…
Sometimes dyes are deceiving though. When I see the used dye it looks like there is still a fair amount of colour left in it however it can be quite spent; as in the above print. The logwood carrier blanket did not transfer much to the silk at all, thankfully the maples ‘stepped up their game’! I’d say it was a happy accident.
Sometimes the carrier blanket will bring some texture; especially if it a highly iron-reactive one like Myrobalan.
Lovely Eco Print texture:
See how the texture shows through. Yes, some use disposable paper towels and get some interesting texture prints. As with any eco printing the amount of wetness plays key.
Just when you think you have it all figured out there’s more ways to switch it up. Such lovely details and less silhouette shapes in this Myrobalan blanket.
So when designing your desired outcome, there’s more choices. What kind of carrier blanket? What leaves AND what sides to use? I know what you are thinking; how strong to make the solution? Well, again that depends on many things; the absorbency of the blanket, the amount of fabric to print, the overall wetness, the dye type, and the strength of the iron. I tend to use some logical rationale and some luck.
If you are new to eco printing this method helps ensure some recognizable images since even leaves without much tannin can provide a silhouette design.
Will every print amaze you?! Probably not! You will probably learn something from each one though. It’s a fun journey and there’s the anticipation of magic that keeps us interested.
I hope you are not under snow, but maybe have a stockpile, and can give this a chance. Remember; it’s a journey, not a destination…
Barb – I am struggling to retain color in my dyed scarves, when printing. I washed some iron blankets and then redipped them in iron water. The prints were interesting but the background became gray,. Perhaps my solution is too strong ?
Thank you in advance for your guidance
Margaret
Hello Barb, you are such a wonderful women, i fell so lucky to read everything you have written. I usually doing ecoprint on cotton, and now i am eiger to try with the silk, but i still get confused about the temperature that should be applied while boiling the bundles…..will it be the same temperature with the cotton, or should i bring to a lower one?? Thank you very much
Silk is actually really strong! It can take higher temperatures of needed. I don’t over process mine as I use the microwave Best way; do some small tests…
Hi Barbara, how prepare the leaves before use in “”carrier blanket ” ? Thanks for your sharing.
The leaves can be fresh or re-hydrated. You can dip the main fabric in an iron solution so that both the ‘blanket’ and leaves have a chance to react with the iron.
Barb – Your scarves are beautiful and thank you for sharing your information. I have been eco-printing on silk for several years, but still become “stumped” at times. I have used iron blankets many times, but now realize I want to maintain the base color, and not “sadden” it with an iron blanket. Right now I have a silk satin scarf dyed with cutch, a beautiful cinnamon color. How can I maintain that color, but apply leaves to it and expect them to leave their shape behind?? Was thinking of just dipping leaves in iron solution, place on cutch scarf, plastic on top, roll and steam. Any other thoughts? THANK YOU for all your valuble info.
Well, I have yet to try cutch. Is it a PH sensitive dye? The iron blanket/pre dye works great with dyes that are PH sensitive like the cochineal and logwood. If you dip in iron water I bet the leaves will leave dark impressions as the iron will react with their tannins. But that will also depend on the type of leaf. It is hard to get a replacement for the iron blanket unless you use the dye in the carrier blanket. You could also consider smaller snippets of iron blankets… maybe interesting shapes or fabrics. There’s always way to mix things up.
Hi Barbara,
the more I delve into the subject of ecoprinting the more I have to recognize how much I still have to learn about that. I learned a lot by reading your posts, thank you for sharing!
I already was sucessful in ecoprinting on iron- dipped silk and logwood- blanket. When I tried the same with a madder blanket I was less sucessful. The blanket did not bring much colour on the silk. How could I enrich the blanket with dye? Could an additional dip in some kind of tannin (blanket or fabric?) Improve the result? Note: I used dryed madder root
Warm regards, Seher
I’m glad I’ve been of some help. It’s difficult for me to say exactly since there are always factors that I am not sure about. If you dip after ward in tannin I am afraid it would all darken since it was dipped in iron. My favourite way to use the dyes is to dye first and then use an iron blanket. The madder may have adhered to the blanket more than the silk. When in doubt… do a test. Good luck
Muchas gracias mi querida, siempre generosa y con detalles muy claros.
Un enorme abrazo desde Uruguay
Thank you so much for your explanation about the carrier blankets. Your blogs are very helpful.
I remember the frustration of trying to learn it and no one wanted to divulge their secrets… happy making
Hi Barb,
You are amazing, and so generous!! I have learnt a lot from you. there is so much information to glean, I keep coming back to your site for reference.
Thank you!
That’s so great to hear! That is my aim. It’s a fun art form with such magic!
Hi Barb, you’re tips are so useful thanks so much. I’m trying a carrier blanket with some flannel. For now I just tried a test with my jacquard silk dyes but intent to try some more natural dyes. I was wondering how wet (or dry?) the blanket should be?
And how much dye – I guess I’ll figure that out by trial and error.
It will depend on what material the desired piece is. Silk does not absorb much but cottons would need more. If it is too wet it may run where you do not want. I tend to wring quite well, since I use plastic barriers it tends to stay where I want it. Wrap tight/flat as well. Good luck!