Lately I’ve been intrigued by the idea of painting with natural dyes. My hope and vision is to use natural color to create unique painted fabric using upcycled cloth. I’ve tried working with iron water as color modifier to paint patterns on naturally dyed fabric, but I have not been very successful. The patterns and colors tend to bleed together too much when washed. After some initial research in Natural Color by Sasha Duerr, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. Promagrenate skin dye was up first. I simmered the skins on and off for a day. After straining the liquid from the pulp, I reduced the…
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Textile Abundance
It has been said that the textile industry is the second largest polluter in the world, second only to the oil industry. Fast fashion and the desire for “on trend” clothing has doubled the production of clothing over that last 20 years. Many times an article of clothing is worn only 3 or 4 times before it is discarded. The average American consumes 82 pounds of textiles per year and the EPA estimates that textile waste takes up approximately 5% of landfill space. This is discouraging when 95% of textiles can be recycled for other uses; either through second-hand stores or in some new form (pillow stuffing, rags, carpet padding,…
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Wren Tunic
The Wren Tunic is my first attempt at knitwear design for little ones. I am very pleased with the outcome and enjoyed the design process very much. Using the basic pattern for a top down raglan sweater from Fringe Association, I was able to take the basic measurements of a baby/toddler and apply them to my gauge swatch. Then I added feminine detailing to complete the design. In the near future, I’m hoping to spend some time designing a little toddler vest. I have a vision in my head and I just need to knit it up. I’m looking forward to showing some progress pics on my Instagram account.