When I gathered the rusty washing in from the line, it smelt of vinegar. I could not face ironing the calico with that smell. So washed again and used a sweet smelling fabric conditioner in the final rinse. Much better. The pieces are now ironed, and I am particularly pleased with them...they are crying out to be stitched..... I am thinking of using them as covers for books. I have not made a book in a few years.... so will have to do some homework and revision to remember how.
On my walk around the gardens at Urchfont yesterday, I came upon some silver birch bark on the ground. I picked it up and have bought it home. When I unravelled the bark I found that the inside is the same colour as my rust dyeing. What a lovely surprise! I would love to stitch into it, but at present it is too brittle. If you know how I could soften it enough to stitch through ... please let me know. I have wondered whether .. linseed oil? furniture polish? thin wax? The bark is very fragile.
2 comments:
Lovely rusted fabrics, Maggie. I don't know about the bark - is there enough of it to break off a bit to experiment on? Wax sounds as though it might be useful... they make bark cloth in Africa, don't they? Or maybe it is a particular kind of bark which holds together well...
Hi!
Whatever your idea is as to how the bark might be incorporated, I hope it works....although, I think your fabric is so outstanding that it doesn't need the bark. Your rust dying is truly to DIE FOR!
Susan
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