Natural dyes were the norm for thousands of years. People wore colourful cloths even from antiquity. Beautiful, earthy, natural colours provided from nature itself. It was only at the second half of the 19th century that the first artificial dye was produced. Gradually synthetic dyes became an integral part of the textile industry and natural dyes were tossed aside.
The dawn of the 21st century was meant to bring new life into old techniques. People are slowly starting to be more aware of the huge environmental cost of the flood of chemicals used for commercial textiles, as well as the potential health hazards from the excessive amount of toxic substances in contact with our skin.
Today modern artisans all over the world are rediscovering the old techniques and are integrating the old wisdom into new ones. Handmade products are appreciated and respected and even their "imperfections" are welcome as a sign of singularity.
I was introduced into the magic world of natural dyes by @traisto. She is the actual artist and I am nearly the helper and of course the photographer :)
So this post is not going to be a tutorial. Although I have learned the basic knowledge of almost everything that we do in our workshop, I am far from expert and definitely not the one to tutor on that skills. But I have the pictures and the time to write, so until @traisto finds the time to make a more detailed post on her own, let me take you on a visual tour at one of my favourite techniques!
Bundle dyeing techniques are fun, simple and sustainable. They are water-efficient natural dye practices, and you can start with things you already have in your kitchen or garden. Many of our common, everyday food scraps are a great source of beautiful color, like onion skins and turmeric. Depending on the season, you can forage greenery from your backyard or neighborhood such as fallen leaves and flowers. Once you try these techniques, you’ll never look at plants the same way again.
source
 |  |  |
|---|
Actually this is about imprinting plant parts on a fabric. Describing it very roughly, you throw everything on the fabric, you tie it firmly, you steam it and voilà!
OK, not that simple but simple enough :)
But most of all it is a magical journey into wonderful colours and unique patterns! Patterns that you can't predict and you'll never repeat again!
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
 |  |
Every time @traisto was unfolding one more of her extraordinary creations, we were astonished by one more breathtaking pattern, one more mesmerising palette of colours! Even now, after months of working with that technique, the results never seize to surprise us.
Always in a pleasant way :)
If you have missed the news, @traisto and myself have opened a craft workshop. I wrote an introduction of our new place here and I guess I'll be writing relevant posts once in a while.
I hope you liked what you saw :)
 |  |  |
|---|
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
Commenting, upvoting and rebloging are highly appreciated!
Wow, very creative, I think they turned out very pretty, you did a great job.
!LUV
!PIZZA
!hiqvote
Thanks!
I am glad you like them :)
fotostef, themyscira sent you LUV. 🙂 (1/1) tools | trade | connect | wiki | daily
Made with LUV by crrdlx.
Wow that is so exciting to get a different color and imprint each time. The last purple one is so great.
Yes it is a wonderful procedure!
And now you know were to find us :)
Are you considering coming to Europe for hivefest?
I like them very much! I have painted tie dye style t-shirts but with artificial colors, but this is another level, I love it!
It is an amazing technique indeed!
Thank you Sofia :)
These are so cool. I would love to dye some clothes like this. They turn out a lot better than when I tie-dyed shirts a couple years ago.
Thanks!
Yes, it is a very nice technique. And not very difficult!
Wao! I love it, and would love to try it myself. I wonder that pretty purple color in the last pics which plant will give it?
You should! There are plenty of free tutorials in the internet. The purple colour comes from logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum).
Wow, that dyeing process is fascinating! The colors, the patterns, everything!!! It is absolutely beautiful the result you get every time you untie a piece of fabric. Greetings to both of you.
Thanks!
It is fascinating indeed :)
Wow! Those turned out fantastic. I really enjoyed this post and it is super cool to see the process. Excellent photos as always, and I do hope your workshop is doing well.
Thanks a lot!
The workshop is still so new that we haven't even realised it yet :)
The first feedback is very good though. Hopefully the rest will come!
I am sure it will be a great success.
@themyscira, the HiQ Smart Bot has recognized your request (1/2) and will start the voting trail.
In addition, @fotostef gets !PIZZA from @hiq.redaktion.
For further questions, check out https://hiq-hive.com or join our Discord. And don't forget to vote HiQs fucking Witness! 😻
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@themyscira(1/5) tipped @fotostef
Oh, but this is magical. You're right, I can't see plants the same way anymore.
Magic and beauty. My congratulations to the artist and to you, for documenting the whole process so well.
(You all are so special to me) 🤗
Many thanks from both of us!
It is a great joy to listen from people that we appreciate that they like our creations :)
You're welcome. ☺️😉✨ Saludos y buenas noches. I am going to sleep.
Καταπληκτικό και πανέμορφο 😻, πρέπει όλοι μας να γυρίσουμε στη φύση και σε όλη τη γνώση και τη σοφία που έχει να μας προσφέρει. Την περασμένη εβδομάδα έβλεπα στο internet πως εκτύπωναν φανέλες με λουλούδια, δεν το είχα δει ποτέ, είναι μια πραγματικά μαγική διαδικασία. Αυτό που πιό πολύ μου αρέσει είναι ότι ποτέ δεν θα σου ξαναβγεί το ίδιο σχέδιο, είναι μοναδικό ✨. Μπράβο σας 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.
Σ΄ευχαριστούμε πολύ!
Είναι πραγματικά απίστευτο πόση ουσιαστική γνώση για την φύση είχε αποκτήσει ο άνθρωπος, σιγά σιγά για χιλιετίες και πόσο εύκολα την πέταξε στα σκουπίδια μέσα σ΄έναν αιώνα.
🤦🏻♀️
Modern art and hand made products make a way straight to my heart. ♥️ Well written and beautifully worded piece. We too have some incredible talent bandini dyes used for colourful cloths in India. Unique patterns that depict our culture in different ways on the canvas that is our cloths. 😌✨
Of course you have! India is a dreamland for fabric dyes. @traisto always says that she would love a tip in your country to learn more techniques :)
Thank you for stopping by @coffeenlove!
How kind of you to say so. Indeed we have some really cool Indian fabric ethnics here. Where are you originally from?
I am from Greece, where I also live.
These are incredible! It must have been amazing to see each one being opened to reveal their surprises and beauty.
It is amazing indeed :)
Thank you very much!
There's no wonder why one out of every two people will get one form of cancer or another, everything is laced with chemicals, from our food to our clothing and everything in between. With some ingenuity, many of these chemicals can be replaced with something natural.
What a great way to tie-dye t-shirts and the like.
We have a Black Walnut plantation on our farm. Back in the day, the juices that came from the husk of the walnut were used for ink and stain. You don't want to husk a walnut without wearing gloves unless you want your hands stained black for a month.
Very cool alternative.
Our "civilisation" is doing so many things the wrong way that I wouldn't know where to start from. The chemicals is for sure one of them.
I am glad you liked the technique, it is a great way to dye fabrics indeed :)
Thank you for stopping by!
Hopefully, many folks do what they can no matter how small it may seem.
I love this!!! Almost missed it, but it's bookmarked now and will study it tomorrow as it's almost midnight now. Thanks for sharing this. I've been planning to try it out, now I have a reason :)
I am glad you liked it! It is a wonderful procedure indeed :)
I absolutely love how the two of you create together, beautiful photos of a marvellous dyeing process! Very excited about your new project!
Thank you for your kind words! It is an exciting project indeed :)
Is it weird that this actually makes me hungry? I thought I was looking at fancy cuisine here, at first haha! Love this!✨
Haha, we do use pots to make them :)
I am glad you liked it, thank you for stopping by!
I guess I was (s)pot on, after all ;^)
You're welcome. Enjoy your day✨
I really liked reading that, no artificial dyes or dangerous substances, we can find everything in nature, wonderful. I didn't imagine that you could dye fabrics this way.
Yes, most people have forgotten that chemicals are only a few decades old and before that everything was made in a more natural way. From dyeing fabrics, to agriculture or even the medicines we were using!
Thank you for stopping by, I am glad you enjoyed it :)