Recycling jars to vases Shabby Chic style

Natural Dye and Ochre Pigment.....

Using the Ochre pigment to colour paper to make Shabby Chic style vases for the Shetland wool flowers. These have been created using wool dyed with plants grown in the Spindrift dye garden.

 

Threads and fleece hand dyed. Woad, grown in Shetland, was used to dye wool for the felted background. Machine stitch and hand stitch was added to create a feel of ocean movement and colour.

Glorious colours from the garden

Amazing how the colours from plants can be transferred to wool as natural dyes.

Onions to dye for.........

The onions grew really well this year in the garden. The first dyed wool using dried onion skins seemed to reflect autumn colours back to me :)

Fruity natural dye colours

Everything in the dye garden this year has grown so well. Now September has arrived and the colours of the Rowan berries, Rosehips, Blackcurrants all enticed me to try some new natural dye experiments. I am excited by the results, pinks and peach colours from Rosehips, Blackcurrants woad and an alum mordant. Also I have been soaking so,e old copper pipe I found on the beach in white vinegar to use as a mordant. A beautiful clear blue/green is the delightful colour that this experiment produced.

Newly dyed skeins of wool ready for some different Shabby Chic projects! Lots of ideas ahead :)

Love Hearts

Using Ochre pigments I got in Provence to colour handmade paper cloth. Flowers made from wool dyed with plants grown in Shetland.

Dyeing wool with flowering heather

The peat hills in Shetland become purple and pink as summer continues and the Heather flowers. It is a beautiful sight and knowing that the Heather offers opportunity for the dye pot an additional bonus!

I grow Heather in the dye garden and harvest the flowering tips whilst listening to the Laverick, (skylark), singing and sea lapping, making sure I choose a day with bright sun to draw the pigment up and little wind :)

Yellow and green and even grey can be found in the process of dyeing. To see how to dye wool using Heather visit the website and find the link on the plant dyes page at http://www.spindriftcrafts.com/#/dyeing-with-heather/4578228679

Enjoy!