Bundle dyeing: Berries
Dye Experiment Materials:
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raspberries
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blueberries
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blackberries
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(pre-washed) wool, silk, and cotton fabric (1 yard minimum each)
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pot (not used for cooking)
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steamer
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mallet
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uncolored twine or string
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*I used fresh berries, not frozen.
**I recommend getting sticks or wooden rods to tie your bundle around. I tried doing it without them and my fabric got burned a little.
Left to right: wool, silk habotai, and cotton broadcloth
Fabric preparation:
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Add 1.5 gallon of water to a pot.
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Mix 8tsp of alum with 1 cup of hot water.
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Bring pot to boil and add fabric.
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Simmer pot for 1 hour.
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Let pot cool down until fabric is retrievable.
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Rinse fabric under warm water.
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Bundle process: ​
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Lay out fabric on top of tarp or dropcloth.
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Place berries where you want them to make impact.*​​
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Pound berries into fabric.
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Fold fabric in half (or as many times as needed to make it compact enough).
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Roll fabric together.
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Wrap twine around cloth to secure fabric bundle.
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Fill pot with water so it does not touch steamer.
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Place bundles in steamer basket.
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Leave bundles in pot for two hours, flipping the bundles over every halfway.
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Let pot cool down and leave the bundles over the pot.
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Leave bundles overnight to absorb color.
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Unravel bundles and rinse fabric under warm water to clean the fabric of plant matter. (I recommend getting a giant trashbag to remove the majority of the fruit matter from your fabric. Or rinse fabric off with a hose outside if possible.)
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Leave out to dry.
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Bundles after steaming