I completed my experiment with ice-flower dyeing (learned from book by India Flint).
Using the gladiola flowers above, I over-dyed silk and linen I had previously dyed in birch bark, which resulted in an earthy yellow/neutral, so that keep that in mind when you see all the green tones. I intend to incorporate in my woven pieces for the Cloth2Cloth workshop I’m enrolled in over at Jude Hill’s place.
In the process I was surprised by the beautiful (and ephemeral) blues and purples and pinks from the initial squeezing of the flowers as well as how much the color changed with the mordants. A really peachy pink came from a vinegar mordant. Other bowls had alum mordant (one for cellulose and a different one for protein). These really went green, with the silk yielding the most lovely green in my opinion. The warm neutral (not green) silk above came with the vinegar as mordant.
silver minnow 
p.s. I forgot to mention that I dunked these in my left-over soymilk today, squeezed them out, and hung them to dry. As I work on my woven pieces the soymilk will cure. It’s possible this will make the color less fugitive, but we’ll see!
p.s. I forgot to mention that I dunked these in my left-over soymilk today, squeezed them out, and hung them to dry. As I work on my woven pieces the soymilk will cure. It’s possible this will make the color less fugitive, but we’ll see!
the soymilk does work well, especially with old cloth…. i never have the time to do much dyeing, i depend on others for that…. hope to see some weaving soon!
love to see dyeingmaybe once the kids are grown.
i can’t see doing it with small ones around. 🙂
hey thanks for the kind mentionbest wishes
india