Eco-Print Fabric

As I delved deeper into my love and appreciation for the materials that I use in my craft, I deeply desired the tones and living color that natural pigments produced. One summer day in 2025, my children and I had been working through the book "The Organic Artist for Kids" by Nick Neddo, and I had watched enough slow stitching and natural dye videos lately, that my curiosity overtook me and I began wrapping small scraps of tea soaked fabric around some rusty metal objects, an old screwdriver, and crow bar. I left them to rest and dry, excited to see what might become of them. I was astonished to unwrap the little pieces of cloth that had been covered in beautiful purple repeating patterns, and areas of bright amber speckles, and only a little bit of an orange discoloration that I would have expected from rust. Despite the slightly uncouth nature of the experiment, the exposures of which most would be deterred by, the reaction on the fabric, the creation of a purple, almost the opposite color, that was created, hidden, unlocked in the interaction, was so fascinating! Now, after all the excitement and discovery in my children and my own art journey thus far, making some rust water to start eco-printing wasn't so hard at all, and I got started doing something that I had been interested in for years!

When I decided I wanted to start making bags to sell, I switched to using a powdered ferrous sulphate, to ensure the purity of the mordant. I am comfortable working with a metal that is biocompatible for me, as the one being exposed to it in the process, and likewise it is safe for the environment when the spent mordant solution eventually needs to be discarded.
 
In natural dyeing, iron is known to generally have a darkening, or saddening effect on the dyestuffs and tannins in many plants.  I find it to be quite charming and provides a great depth of color that inspires a lot of the pieces I have made with them. The iron creates many purple and pink hues with the plants in my area. I have also been able to get olive tones, yellows, and oranges (from onion skins!)

Every bundle and every batch come out differently! Working with nature can be unpredictable at times, and not all plants will produce a dye. There is room for experimentation in every stage of the process. I find it a joy to introduce this element into my work, and to have fabric which is not only inspired by the ultimate muse of the natural world, but it itself is infused within the fabric.
I truly never know what I am going to get when I wrap up a bundle, and their is nothing more exciting like waiting, and tending to a bundle, wondering what nature will make of it as it steams or boils. When I do lay eyes on the fabric, the colors and the shapes, novel in their presence and arrangements take my mind to all kinds of places. These are the places I explore in my work. If you want to know when I am cooking up some new eco-prints, and be a part of the excitement that goes on over here, consider subscribing to my email list, or follow me on Instagram @jujibelle_giftsofearth